Download German language brochure on investment fraud
With these brochures, we want to encourage readers to become more aware of their rights and solutions for dealing with unavoidable problems, and above all to identify and avoid cost traps more easily. The print publication reached around 300,000 households in Austria with the September 2025 issue of Konsument and is entirely EU-funded.
cooperation
Brief overview of the content
Here is a brief summary of the brochure's contents for a quick overview. For details, please download the PDF linked above. Interested parties can also request a free copy of our EVZ publications by sending an email to inforsevice@vki.at .
Crypto trading fraud (CTF) is the most common type of investment fraud in Austria. The first two pages of the broschure use a clear example to illustrate the individual stages of a typical CTF scenario.
- Victim sees advertising bait and registers on a fake website.
- During initial personal contact, victim is manipulated by fraudsters.
- Victim sets up remote maintenance software and tests it with small amounts.
- Deceitful trust leads to larger pseudo-investments.
- Victim is strung along and persuaded to make final pseudo-investments.
- Criminals break off contact and victim suffers total loss.
This is followed by an advice page with tips on what is important when investing money, with references to more detailed information from online sources provided by the FMA.
- Clarify your investment goals
- Find the right mix of investment types
- Compare providers and costs
- Question bait offers and risks
- Seek help when needed
This is followed by a look behind the scenes at the criminals and the counter-strategies used by the authorities to combat them. The page is supplemented by instructions for those who have fallen victim to investment fraud.
We explain the six most common scams on the next double page, show how they work and how to recognise them.
- CTF fraud through fake platforms – the most common method
- Pig butchering and love scams – building trust over the long term to later abuse it
- Recovery scams – repeatedly fleecing those who have already been defrauded
- Chain and pyramid schemes in the investment sector
- Artificially hyped worthless crypto assets as a trap
- Cold calling – fraudulent investment schemes via telephone
We conclude the publication with some final tips, a checklist of warning signs and contact details for further information.
