It was just a game

Seven bomb threateners triggered hundreds of missions

(Bild: Matthias Lauber/laumat.at)

Since fall 2024, they have been sending masses of threatening emails, some with Islamist content, to schools, offices and train stations throughout Austria. Now the Federal Criminal Police Office and state security, together with German authorities, have struck. The seven boys and men were playing a game for recognition. 

It is unclear how much money the countless police operations since the fall of 2024 have cost our police. The emergency services have had to deploy countless times between Vorarlberg and Burgenland to completely evacuate and search schools or other buildings.

In addition to the financial aspect, the psychological consequences of such fear scenarios, especially for children and young people, should not be underestimated. How the targets were selected was not clear for a long time. 

Schools, such as here in Innsbruck, were among the preferred locations for the threats.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

First case at Salzburg Central Station
It all began on October 2, 2024 with an email that arrived at Salzburg Central Station. Its content: an Islamist threat against the building. The State and Federal Criminal Police Office took over the securing of evidence, and initial suspicions against a person from Germany were confirmed, as the head of the Cybercrime Competence Center (C4) of the Federal Criminal Police Office was able to confirm to the "Krone". What followed was an unprecedented series of bomb threats that covered the entire country. 

The addressees were selected completely at random on Google. None of the suspects had any connection to any of the crime scenes.

DSN-Ermittler zur „Krone“

Schools, government offices, train stations and other buildings had to be evacuated more than 300 times. The scene that sent the threats sought recognition online. The men and boys - aged between 16 and 23 and all living in Germany - outbid each other.

"The bigger, the better," says Leopold Holzbauer, deputy in the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN). The more media report on it, the better for the personal reputation on the net. 

The group also exploited the Graz rampage as a free rider.(Bild: Christa Blümel)

"It works well in Austria!"
Austria played an important role in this. Although the perpetrators operated from Germany, the threats were more widely reported in Austria and Switzerland. "It works well in Austria," it was said in an internal chat, a DSN investigator told the "Krone" newspaper.

The men then posted screenshots of the reporting to celebrate. Nevertheless, there were probably ten times as many threats in Germany itself as there were here. The targets were chosen completely at random via Google, there was no reference to them.

It is not a trivial offense. And even if it doesn't happen immediately, we will find you!

Paul Marouschek, stv. Leiter des Bundeskriminalamtes

Bild: BMI/Gerd Pachauer

Perpetrators shamelessly exploited current threats
The perpetrators acted in a completely situationally elastic manner. If Islamism was currently in the media spotlight, the letters threatened Islamist attacks. Sadly, the men also jumped on the bandwagon after the terrible rampage at a school in Graz - and threatened schools throughout Austria with similar incidents. "We assume that the phenomenon will continue", say the DSN investigators, expressing little optimism. Even now, there is a bomb threat almost every day. 

Various train stations also had to be evacuated.(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer)

There were no friendships in chat groups
Incidentally, anyone who thinks that the bomb threat scene is friends with each other is mistaken. During the investigation, it was observed that the perpetrators were constantly communicating on various channels and sharing and celebrating their "successes". However, the men and boys did not know each other. Quite the opposite: they didn't begrudge each other anything and tried to blackmail each other with sensitive data. What all seven suspects had in common was their technical knowledge, especially when it came to anonymization and covering their tracks. 

Officials from Austria were involved
In a joint operation, the German authorities carried out raids in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Hesse and Saxony-Anhalt in September and last Tuesday - officers from Austria were also involved in the raids. Seven people were investigated and computers and cell phones were seized.

The German prosecution authorities will have to decide what penalties they now face, as the crimes themselves took place on German territory. However, it is by no means a "trivial offense", as Federal Criminal Police Office Vice President Paul Marouschek emphasized.