Speak out! Silence shields perpetrators

Investment fraud victims often feel alone, with feelings of shame, anger, helplessness, and racked by the question of whether reporting the fraud will achieve anything.

What does filing a police report achieve?

Your report helps the police to build up a better picture of the latest scamming techniques. The police are only able to recognise new methods and to focus investigations accordingly if they know how scammers operate and the technical means they use.

Even apparently tiny hints can prove decisive. A single digital detail, such as a file, an e-mail or a connection using remote access tools like AnyDesk often provides the breakthrough among the flood of reports. Your report can be a key piece in the puzzle. Every reported criminal act assists investigations and increases the chances of a successful prosecution. Ultimately, all victims profit if every act is known about.

In addition, you need to back a report for your own claims. You can only officially assert a claim at a later date if you have officially reported it.

What does a report to the FMA achieve?

Your report makes a difference.

All information from specific cases is used for awareness measures, media work and prevention projects.

The FMA checks whether a company needs to be authorised or registered to provide the financial services it is offering, and whether it does have one. If it is unauthorised, the FMA can publish investor warnings, which allow the general public to be warned early.

We are unable to issue warnings about all cases, but if we suspect that a criminal offence is being committed, we also notify the Public Public Prosecutor’s Office (Staatsanwaltschaft).

IBANs for payee accounts and payment service providers you provide us assist us in preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.

Information and data collected by the FMA are passed on to national and international working groups. Progress can then be made towards harmonised measures throughout Europe.

Summary:

Reporting an incident is the responsible and right thing to do.

Every report to the police or the FMA increases the visibility of investment fraud, assists the competent bodies, and increases the chances of ensuring perpetrators don’t get away with crimes, even though the probability of getting your money back remains slim.

Your individual loss becomes a contribution to greater transparency and financial market security.

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Useful sources of information

Prevention and help for victims: www.bundeskriminalamt.at

Overview about online fraud, scams and fake content: www.watchlist-internet.at

Let’s make phishing impossible!: www.phishen-impossible.at

Spotting financial fraudsters: www.fma.gv.at > A to Z of Finance > Spotting financial fraudsters

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This edition was produced in cooperation with Criminal Intelligence Service Austria.

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