Case austria-albania-van-der-bellen-cryptoDeepfake fraudAustria
WKStA and Albanian police raid call centres using fake Van der Bellen crypto videos
Austria's WKStA and Bundeskriminalamt, with Albanian police, Europol and Eurojust, raided three Albanian call centres pushing crypto schemes with fake Van der Bellen videos; ten arrested, damage at least 50M euros.
CriticalAttack using AIStatus: Under investigationVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Apr 29, 2026
- Location
- Austria
- Target
- Investors in Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and Canada
- Severity
- Critical
- Triggered by
- Albania-based call centre fraud network
- Actor type
- Criminal
- Reported loss
- $57M
- CVE
- None
What happened
Austria's WKStA and Bundeskriminalamt, with Albanian police, Europol and Eurojust, raided three Albanian call centres pushing crypto schemes with fake Van der Bellen videos; ten arrested, damage at least 50M euros.
Impact: At least 50M euros taken from victims across seven countries; 450 computers and 238 phones seized.
Who triggered it
Actor: Albania-based call centre fraud network
Attribution: Austrian prosecutors identified a network of about 450 call centre workers in Albania; ten suspects were arrested in the raids.
Motive: Financial gain from fake crypto investments and follow-on recovery fees.
How it happened
Attack vector: Fake news articles and manipulated videos of Van der Bellen, David Alaba and Hermann Maier promoted crypto schemes; agents pressured victims and later posed as authorities offering recovery for a fee.
Root cause: Fabricated celebrity endorsements on social media plus multilingual call centres operating outside victims' jurisdictions.
Timeline
- Austrian investigation begins after victim complaints
- Raids on three Albanian call centres; ten arrested, 900,000 euros cash seized
- WKStA and BK announce results at Vienna press conference
Response
Ten suspects arrested; proceedings under Austrian and Albanian law with Europol and Eurojust support.
Current status: Under investigation
Sources (open in a new tab)
- Salzburg24 / APA salzburg24.at
- CIO.de / dpa cio.de
Cite this case
WKStA and Albanian police raid call centres using fake Van der Bellen crypto videos. AI Threat Watch, case austria-albania-van-der-bellen-crypto, Apr 29, 2026. https://aithreat.io/cases/austria-albania-van-der-bellen-crypto/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/austria-albania-van-der-bellen-crypto/