VdB and Wolf as bait

Multi-million-dollar scam using fake profiles of Armin Wolf

Victims sometimes invested their entire savings.(Bild: Hira/peopleimages.com – stock.adobe.com)

The Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption, together with the Federal Criminal Police Office and Albanian investigators, has uncovered a multi-million-euro international internet fraud scheme involving fake celebrity news. As the authorities announced on Wednesday, the victims—including numerous Austrians—were tricked into investing in cryptocurrencies using this false information.

Austrian authorities launched the investigation two years ago following a surge in reports in Vienna in June 2023. That is why Reinhard Nosofsky, head of the Fraud and Economic Crime Investigations Office at the Federal Criminal Police Office (BK), urged the public to report every instance of fraud, as this allows for a better understanding of the perpetrators’ methods and behavior.

“What may seem insignificant to outsiders can be crucial for our investigators,” said Nosofsky. Based on the complaints from Austria, BK investigators quickly identified the call centers in Tirana, which had a total of 450 workstations. On April 17, 2026, a coordinated raid took place.

Largest call center had 300 workstations
The largest of the three call centers, with 300 workstations, was located in the center of Tirana in a business tower spread across two floors. These were modern open-plan offices with clear hierarchical structures, where whiteboards displaying assigned teams for the respective countries could be seen, said Nosofsky. There were, for example, desks labeled “German” that were supposed to handle Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.

At the time of the raid, there were about 80 people in the call centers who were in the process of persuading their victims to make payments. Some suspects managed to escape through hidden exits. Once the investigators were inside the room, they took over the calls from potential victims to prevent any further money transfers from being made.

In addition to the call centers, nine private residences were also searched. Approximately 450 computers and 238 mobile phones were seized. Investigators also confiscated various data carriers and storage media, which now need to be analyzed. “Now the hard work of the criminal investigation begins,” said Nosofsky.

Ten people were arrested, while others were charged but remain at large. Most are Albanian nationals, men between the ages of 25 and 40. The investigation focuses on commercial fraud and membership in a criminal organization, said WKStA spokesperson and Senior Public Prosecutor Alexandra Völkel.

The operation was carried out with the support of Europol and Eurojust. The damage amounts to at least 50 million euros, but investigators believe the figure is much higher. 900,000 euros were recovered.

Fake VdB Promoted Investment Project“
 ” The identities of well-known figures such as Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and ORF presenters Armin Wolf and Nadja Bernhard were usedforthe fraud; they promoted these investments in fake photos and videos. For example, the Federal President can be seen vouching for the investment and saying in the video: “Don’t waste any time, act now.” A monthly payout of 250,000 euros was promised in exchange for a payment of 250 euros.

But former Chancellor Karl Nehammer, professional soccer player David Alaba, former ski star Hermann Maier, TV presenters Armin Assinger and Mirjam Weichselbraun, as well as comedian and “Willkommen Österreich” host Christoph Grissemann were also featured in the footage.

Millions in losses
The victims of the scam are mostly located in Europe, including not only Austria but also Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Canada. In Austria, there were around 150 victims, with losses totaling 26 million euros. The minimum investment was 250 euros, though some victims invested their entire savings—amounting to millions of euros.

Particularly brazen: When victims became suspicious, they were contacted by fake law firms and pressured into paying a fee to recover their allegedly frozen investment.

Rapidly Growing Area of Crime
Investment fraud involving “unbelievably high promises” is the “fastest-growing area of crime” in Europe, said Senior Specialist Sebastian Bley, head of the Serious Fraud Team at the European Financial & Economic Crime Centre (EFECC) at Europol. “The trend continues to rise.”

This increase is due to the growing professionalism and division of labor among the perpetrators, who are spread across Europe. As in this case, they also post ads on social media, where victims are directed to so-called landing pages to enter their personal data. They are then contacted by brokers via call centers to make their investments. Thanks to digitalization, “an incredibly large number of victims” can be reached this way, said Bley.