Entrepreneur lost 100,000 euros to scammers
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An entrepreneur from Salzburg lost 100,000 euros to an internet scammer. The German came across the wrong people when trying to sell company shares in the fall. Now, in international cooperation, two men from Sri Lanka who siphoned off the money have been identified.
The German, who lives in Salzburg, put parts of his company up for sale on the Internet last fall. Several interested parties got in touch – and the 44-year-old decided on the wrong ones. He first met the prospect’s alleged son and his business partner in Milan to discuss the details of the deal and negotiate the commission. They agreed to process the transaction in cryptocurrency via a wallet, i.e. a digital storage location.
Successful cooperation with Embassy in Thailand
A week later, on October 7th, there was to be another meeting in Strasbourg. The entrepreneur had already transferred the agreed provision of 100,000 euros to the wallet in advance. Shortly before the meeting, he received the message that the meeting had to be postponed. The German opened the wallet and had to watch the amount disappear from the deposit without being able to intervene.
Now the Salzburg police, in cooperation with the Austrian Embassy in Thailand and the Australian Federal Police, have been able to investigate two suspects aged 19 and 24 from Sri Lanka who are said to have withdrawn the money from the wallet. According to the police spokeswoman, there is still no trace of the two men whom the entrepreneur met in Milan. The two Sri Lankans are reported to the Salzburg public prosecutor’s office.