Vienna Police Caught Rip-Deal Scammer: 1.2 Million Euro Damage

Most of the victims, who primarily had cryptocurrencies stolen from them, are from Austria. The Dutch national was apprehended in Milan in collaboration with Europol and was already sentenced to three years in prison at the St. Pölten Regional Court in October of this year, the police reported on Thursday.

Unlike the classic rip-deal, where counterfeit money is almost always handed over for offered luxury goods such as high-priced watches, gold coins, and gold bars, the arrested 39-year-old was mainly interested in emptying his victims' crypto accounts. The investigators of the Rip-Deal Unit of the Vienna State Criminal Police Office therefore speak of a "Rip-Deal 2.0". Counterfeit money with a face value of 200,000 euros was also seized from the Dutchman with Serbian roots. These types of offenses are usually committed by experienced gangs and clans from the Western Balkans region, as was the case here.

"Operation Dallas"

The investigations were conducted under the name "Operation Dallas", as the main suspect identified within the clan is internally called "Kennedy", explained Chief Inspector Gerald Goldnagl, head of the Rip-Deal-Unit Vienna, in a background discussion. The case started rolling after a private detective from Vorarlberg approached the Vienna special investigators with several victims in 2021.

"One of the victims was a Lower Austrian from St. Pölten who wanted to sell his apartment in Italy," reported Valentin Szaga-Doktor, one of the involved detectives. The victim was contacted by alleged businessmen who wanted to meet in the Netherlands and demanded a commission of 75,000 euros as intermediaries for the sale. In return, they gave the Lower Austrian the purchase price for the apartment in the form of counterfeit money and fled - a classic rip-deal.

Cases at Home and Abroad

"We were able to solve the case relatively quickly," said Szaga-Doktor. Pictures and voice recordings of the suspect were secured and gradually more cases involving the accused with the scene name "Kennedy" emerged. The other victims were from the Lower Austrian district of Tulln, from Salzburg, a Viennese businessman, an entrepreneur from the Liezen district, and one victim each from Switzerland and Germany, where German detectives reported due to the investigations in Austria.

Here, the perpetrators primarily demanded cryptocurrencies to prove the victims' creditworthiness. In the case of the entrepreneur from the Liezen district, it remained an attempted rip-deal. The perpetrators tried to persuade him to deposit 131,000 euros in a crypto wallet for the mediation to a business around the sale of industrial machines, explained Szaga-Doktor. However, the father of a policewoman became suspicious and found warnings about rip-deals on the internet, his daughter turned to the Rip-Deal-Unit in Vienna.

"Brilliant" Approach

The perpetrators initially establish a large basis of trust with their victim. The approach is "brilliant," said Mario Kaintz, one of the further investigators. The victims are almost always invited abroad to a nice hotel or environment, often to Italy. According to Kaintz, the fraudsters exploit both ignorance and people who are familiar with cryptocurrencies. When entering a password or the associated "seed phrase" into a new or existing crypto wallet, the phone screen is spied on, for example, through cameras on the ceiling.

"The crypto assets are then no longer entirely yours," said Kaintz. There is no need for a second meeting, "the perpetrators already have everything" and can empty the crypto account. This is not even a "hack," emphasized the criminologist. "In the end, one can only wish that it does not mean your economic existence." Therefore, wallets should never be set up in the presence of other people. "Do not be persuaded to install a new wallet," warned Kaintz. "A reputable business partner never demands a specific wallet."

Video calls for crypto matters or a test transfer should also never be made. "Never scan QR codes for wallet addresses that you do not trust 100 percent," emphasized the expert. "Never hand over your smartphone," said Kaintz, although that should be "clear," but it is still done because so much trust is created in advance, he explained.

100,000 Euro Compensation

The main perpetrator, who was caught in Milan in July 2024, had already received convictions and prison sentences abroad in 2009 and 2011. In 2016, there were also investigations against him for serious robbery of 80,000 euros from a Styrian woman, but there was no conviction. During the court proceedings in St. Pölten, the accused paid 100,000 euros in compensation to one of his victims, which was considered to mitigate the sentence. Two accomplices of the 39-year-old are known, and a Dutchman and a Serb are being sought, reported Szaga-Doktor.

Martin Roudny from the Vienna State Criminal Police Office also rejoiced at the success of the Rip-Deal-Unit's investigation. Since 2020, the special investigators have solved 102 rip-deal cases with a total damage sum of 25 million euros, he explained. Now there is a "special development in the area of crypto crime". The number of unreported cases of these crimes is always higher, said Goldnagl. Many victims are deterred from reporting to the police because the perpetrators sometimes also involve the victims in the crime, such as the handover of counterfeit money abroad, said the head of the Rip-Deal-Unit.

Recommendation of Crime Prevention:

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.