Austrian police have cracked a cryptocurrency fraud case worth 1.2 million dollars

ChainCatcher news, citing the local English news media "The International," reports that earlier this year, with the help of Europol, a 39-year-old suspect with a series of prior convictions was arrested in Milan, Italy. The suspect is reported to have been involved in a new variant of a "scam" scheme that traditionally uses counterfeit money to purchase luxury goods, such as expensive watches or gold. In this case, the victims gave the scammers cryptocurrency in exchange for counterfeit cash. The Vienna police refer to this variant as "Rip-Deal 2.0."

The suspect was also found to be in possession of €200,000 in counterfeit cash. Gerald Goldnagl, the chief inspector of the Vienna division, stated, "These crimes are typically carried out by organized gangs from the Western Balkans."

Detective Mario Kaintz noted that the gang's scamming tactics are "sophisticated." In some cases, "they make victims input passwords or 'seed phrases' for their cryptocurrency wallets, and sometimes they even use hidden cameras in the ceiling to spy on the victims' phone screens."