A suspected fake police officer targeted an 84-year-old woman in Vienna, Austria, leaving her with damages in the six-figure range. The fraud began with a phone call from an unknown man on 4 November 2026 at 11:45, who claimed to be an officer from Vienna’s Criminal Prevention. He told the woman that a suspect had been arrested after an attempted fraud at a bank and had used her identity. To get the woman to cooperate, the caller said she was now a key witness and needed to support the police. He instructed her to hand over cash and valuables to a man he said was a police employee so they could be “scanned” temporarily. The victim, who had not previously met the caller or the man who arrived to collect the items, handed over a larger amount of cash and gold. Police say the scam caused damage worth six figures. Vienna police also issued prevention tips for similar “false police officer” trick frauds, in which elderly people are called and told they could be connected to burglaries or need to help with police work. Police stress that they do not request valuables for safekeeping or registration. They urge people to end suspicious calls and dial 133. The case remains under investigation.