Police warn of emails from Salzburg police chief – Salzburg
A particularly brazen scam is practiced by fraudsters on behalf of the Salzburg State Police Director. Caution is advised.
“At the request of State Police Director Rausch, you will be informed that you are the subject of several applicable criminal proceedings” – fraudulent emails with this wording, plus the police logo and the Austrian coat of arms, are currently circulating in Salzburg. The recipients are accused of an alleged sexual offense such as pedophilia, cyber pornography or exhibitionism.
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The senders demand justification for these crimes by e-mail. The police are currently assuming that this is another variant of sex blackmail, also known as “sextortion”. So scammers try to blackmail the recipient by threatening to pay a fine.
Police give tips against fraudulent emails:
➤ Check the text carefully! The e-mail addresses provided are not official addresses for authorities. Spellings of names often differ in the letter. The sender is often another country.
➤ Be very careful with mail attachments – they often hide malicious programs!
➤ Do not disclose any personal data!
➤ Do not reply to questionable letters, do not respond to demands!
➤ If you are already a victim: report it to the nearest police station!
A young man from Melk (Upper Austria) recently experienced a bad case of so-called sextortion. The 32-year-old sent intimate photos via Instagram and was promptly delivered: the man was supposed to pay 10,000 euros. More >>