Benefits defrauded

Bogus Viennese exposed: 250 cases solved

Walter Hillerer's unit also investigates "fake Viennese".(Bild: Zwefo)

Success after raids by Wiens Gruppe Sofortmaßnahmen: A total of 250 "fake Viennese" have been tracked down. The reporting law, on the other hand, provides little leverage against social fraudsters. The city insists on a reform.

Vienna's Emergency Measures Group, headed by Walter Hillerer, made a particularly good find during raids in slums: In a total of 2,400 identity checks and 200 further investigations, more than 250 "fake Viennese" were discovered last year, against whom legally binding sentences have since been imposed.

The people were demonstrably only registered in the city as fakes in order to obtain benefits worth money from the Viennese social welfare system, in particular minimum benefits.

Exposing fraudsters through regular checks
In this context, Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) insists on the "Vienna House Rules". The regular checks against bogus registrations are intended to "ensure that everyone who is registered in Vienna actually has their main residence here and contributes to the community".

With the checks, Vienna is enforcing the federal registration law - a law that is not particularly popular: since 2019, the accommodation provider no longer has to guarantee that all the information on the digital registration forms is true. The town hall points out that "vehement objections" were raised when the registration law was amended five years ago - but to no avail.