Scam Calls

If a police officer named “Ralf Maier” calls, hang up immediately

The Upper Austria State Police Directorate warns of scammers posing as police officers(Bild: APA/Herbert Pfarrhofer)

If “Ralf Maier” from the Freistadt Police Department calls, you should hang up immediately: Law enforcement is warning of a wave of scam calls. “Inspector Maier pretends to be warning about break-ins in the immediate area. In the Mühlviertel region, however, the scam didn’t work. 

On Thursday, starting around 1:00 p.m., several men and women from the towns of Königswiesen and Unterweißenbach contacted the Königswiesen and Freistadt police stations within a short period of time. The reason for their calls was that these individuals—all of whom were elderly women—had received a call on their landlines.

“There have been break-ins”
The caller identified himself as “Ralf Maier” from the Freistadt Police Department and stated that several break-ins had occurred in the vicinity of the respective households. He claimed that perpetrators had already been arrested and weapons seized. However, he added that there were still perpetrators on the loose in the area. At this point, at the latest, all the people who received the call ended the conversation, according to their own accounts, because the call seemed strange to them.

Real police officers reassured the victims
Two elderly women even mentioned during their calls that they were now afraid something might have happened to them or to one of their relatives. Police officers then drove to these women’s homes and conducted in-person, reassuring, and preventive counseling sessions regarding this type of phone scam and, in this specific case, fake police officers.

Urgent Warning

• Hang up immediately on suspicious calls!
• Neither a doctor, a police officer, nor a prosecutor will ever call you and ask you to pay bail or hand over cash or gold.
• Never disclose information over the phone about cash, valuables, bank balances, or account details.
• Never open a text message from a “tax office” or your bank. None of these institutions will contact you via text message. This also applies to other organizations such as the Austrian Health Insurance Fund or insurance companies.
• Do not let yourself be pressured, and end the call immediately.
• Call the police by dialing the emergency number 133 and contact your family members immediately.