4.8 million euros in damages

“Shock calls”: Criminal gang broken up

So far, 23 suspects have been identified.(Bild: Imre Antal)

The Lower Austrian police, together with the federal government, have dealt a significant blow to a criminal "shock call" gang. The perpetrators caused a total of €4.8 million in damages. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) announced details at a press conference on Monday.

Karner began by explaining that the "fake police" scam had risen sharply about four years ago. The perpetrators deliberately exploited the plight of their victims, often involving large sums of money. Not only was trust in state authorities such as the police abused, but trust in the judiciary, financial institutions, and doctors was also deliberately exploited.

The methods range from the so-called "medical trick," in which relatives are said to be in the hospital and allegedly need expensive treatment, to the "bank trick," in which perpetrators claim there is a security problem with bank accounts.

Call centers raided, numerous arrests
According to police, a total of 23 suspects from Poland, Czechia, Germany, Slovakia, Serbia, and Spain were identified. 17 people were arrested. The total damage amounts to 4.8 million euros. "Intensive cross-border cooperation with the states and the federal government," said Karner, made it possible to uncover the crimes. 

So far, 23 suspects have been identified.(Bild: Imre Antal)

Specifically, two call centers in Vienna-Donaustadt and Brno in the Czech Republic, which were considered to be the hubs of the calls, were raided. These so-called "Keilerzellen" (call centers) were located and shut down after a tip-off from the Slovak authorities. The police define "Keilungen" as telephone calls made from Austria to Slovakia and possibly other European countries.

According to LKA chief Stefan Pfandler, locating these call centers proved particularly difficult. Although the telephone activities originating in Vienna were quickly identified, their exact location remained unclear at first. In addition, the group of perpetrators often moved their location on a weekly basis, which made the investigation even more difficult. According to the police, the crime scenes were located in practically all federal states, and the accused also operated internationally in what were in some cases "company-like structures," including in Slovakia, Germany, and Poland.

The authorities described the gang's scams as "particularly insidious."(Bild: Imre Antal)

With regard to the future prevention of "shock calls," Lower Austria's State Police Director Franz Popp emphasized: "Knowledge protects." The more that is reported about this scam, the better people can protect themselves. According to the police, men and women are equally affected. There is also no particular age group that is particularly at risk. "Even young people fell for these particularly devious scams," explained the executive.

Fraud figures on the rise
The Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) has also observed a steady increase in such fraud cases for years. Prosecutors are increasingly confronted with a "highly professional fraud economy," emphasized Wolfgang Handler, deputy head of the WKStA. Therefore, special attention must continue to be paid to this type of crime in the future. The deliberate exploitation of a "climate of fear" plays a central role in this. 

According to the police, 90 completed crimes and 329 reported attempted crimes were committed in this country in 2025 in the area of "shock calls." However, investigators suspect that the number of unreported cases or non-reports for this type of crime is likely to be much higher due to the shame felt by those affected.