Attempted fraud in the Drautal: Woman saved by clever move!

Attempted fraud in the Drautal: Woman saved by clever move!

A worrying incident occurred in the Spittal an der Drau district on October 26, 2025, when two men tried to get passers-by to hand over money. According to a report by Click Carinthia Police received several tips about the men stopping vehicles and demanding cash. A woman reported a similar incident to the Möllbrücke police station. The men had given hand signals to stop them.

At this meeting, the perpetrators promised to refund the requested amount of 1,300 euros via direct transfer. Nevertheless, the woman only withdrew a small amount and handed it over. As was to be expected, however, the promised remittance did not materialize. The police were able to arrest the two Romanian citizens, aged 21 and 23, a short time later. They were initially reported at large, but the public prosecutor's office eventually ordered their arrest with the aim of deportation, whereupon the men were transferred to the Villach police detention center.

Deep fake scam in the district

Another worrying incident occurred in February 2024. An 82-year-old man from the Spittal/Drau district became a victim of deep fake fraud, like Police News reported. The man had discovered a supposedly promising form of investment in a fraudulent advertisement and registered on an unknown website. He initially invested 250 euros, but on the advice of the perpetrators, his investment increased to over 100,000 euros.

As a result of numerous other transfers made to accounts in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Spain, the fraud victims suffered a massive six-figure financial loss. The Radenthein police station has started an investigation to track down the perpetrators.

The rise of deepfake scams

The 82-year-old's case is part of an alarming trend. According to a report by Signicat In the last three years, fraud attempts using deepfake technology have increased by an impressive 2,137%. Financial institutions must reorient themselves as a result of this increase and urgently rethink their security strategies.

Over 1,200 respondents from the financial and payments sector confirmed that deepfake fraud is now one of the most common types of identity fraud in the European financial sector. Almost 42.5% of all fraud attempts discovered rely on AI technologies such as deepfakes. These use artificial intelligence to create realistic digital counterfeits and call not only companies but also consumers to be vigilant.

With this current issue, companies are required to update their fraud detection systems and provide in-depth training for employees and customers. This is the only way to combat the risk of fraud, especially deepfakes, more effectively in the future.