Franz Valandro from the consumer advisory service of AK Vorarlberg spoke in “Vorarlberg LIVE” about the current rampant wave of fraud.
For some time now, the police have been warning of fraudulent scams via WhatsApp or SMS. The daughter/son scam is currently the most popular and successful. There have already been numerous cases, some of which are very painful for the victims. In Vorarlberg alone, more than 30,000 euros have been stolen so far.
“Based on our findings and the information we received from the police, one can assume that the people behind such actions are based abroad and that the whole thing is organized very professionally, almost mafia-like,” says Dr. Franz Valandro, consumer advisor at the Vorarlberg Chamber of Labor (AKV).
The entire broadcast
According to Valandro, the SMS or WhatsApp messages are sent randomly to a wide variety of recipients. The fraudsters probably have the necessary contact details from automated programs that randomly search for telephone numbers. The messages are sent automatically from numerous computers, explains the consumer advisor. With certain programs from the dark web, scammers are able to change their own phone number so that it consists of any number. It is not possible for the recipient to identify a sender.
psychological pressure
“The whole thing is very perfidious. Also because of course not only the person himself is addressed. This is about the family. This creates psychological pressure. Sometimes these messages are also written with very aggressive methods,” explains Valandro. This is an insidious scam presumably used by international criminal groups; also in Vorarlberg.
The broadcast “Vorarlberg LIVE” is a cooperation between VOL.AT, VN.at, Ländle TV and VOL.AT TV and is broadcast from Monday to Friday from 5 p.m. There’s more here.
