How to Report Cybercrime in Austria (and Get Your Money Back)

Quick answer: In an emergency dial 133 (police) or 112 (EU emergency). To report a crime for investigation, go to any police station (Polizeiinspektion) or use the online channels at onlinesicherheit.gv.at; you can also alert the Bundeskriminalamt Cybercrime reporting office (Meldestelle Cybercrime) at [email protected]. Call your bank right now to freeze the card or account and reverse pending transfers. Under PSD2 (implemented in Austria as the Zahlungsdienstegesetz, ZaDiG) your bank must refund unauthorised payments, and your own liability is capped at EUR 50 unless you acted fraudulently or with gross negligence.

What to do in 3 steps

1. Call your bank immediately. Report the fraud, freeze the card or account, and ask them to recall any pending transfer. Notifying the bank without undue delay is what triggers the EUR 50 cap and the next-business-day refund duty for unauthorised payments.
2. Report to the police. File a report (Anzeige) at any police station, or use the reporting routes via onlinesicherheit.gv.at. You can additionally notify the Bundeskriminalamt Cybercrime reporting office at [email protected]. Keep the case number for your bank and any insurer.
3. Preserve evidence and flag the scam. Save screenshots, payment receipts, IBANs, emails and links. Report fraudulent shops, phishing and online traps to Watchlist Internet (watchlist-internet.at) so others are warned.

How recovery actually works

For unauthorised payments, the law is on your side: once you notify your bank without undue delay, it must restore your account to the state it was in before the transaction, generally by the end of the next business day, and may only refuse if it can show you acted fraudulently or with gross negligence. For authorised transfers you made yourself, there is no automatic refund, so speed matters most: the sooner your bank asks the receiving bank to recall the money, the better the chance some is still sitting in the mule account. If your bank rejects a justified claim, you can escalate for free to the Joint Conciliation Board of the Austrian Banking Industry (Gemeinsame Schlichtungsstelle der Oesterreichischen Kreditwirtschaft, bankenschlichtung.at) and lodge a complaint with the financial regulator, the FMA. Even when money cannot be returned, a police report and your evidence support any insurance claim and the wider investigation.

What to have ready

• Your account or card number (IBAN) and the exact dates, times and amounts of the transactions.
• The recipient's details: IBAN, account name, shop URL, phone number or email used by the scammer.
• Screenshots of messages, payment confirmations, the website or app, and any chat history.
• A written timeline of what happened and when you first noticed the loss.
• Your bank's fraud-line reference and the police report (Anzeige) number.

Frequently asked questions

Someone used my card or account without permission. Will I get the money back?
Yes, in most cases. For unauthorised payments your bank must refund the amount under PSD2 / ZaDiG, and your liability is capped at EUR 50 unless you authorised the payment yourself or were grossly negligent. Notify the bank as soon as you notice the transaction.

I was tricked into sending the money myself. Is that also covered?
Not automatically. These are authorised push-payment scams, so there is no guaranteed refund. Contact your bank at once to attempt a recall, report to the police, and if the bank handled your case poorly, escalate to the Bankenschlichtung conciliation board or the FMA.

Where do I report a fake shop or phishing site?
Report fraudulent shops, phishing and online traps to Watchlist Internet at watchlist-internet.at. For a criminal report, go to any police station or use onlinesicherheit.gv.at, and you can also email the Bundeskriminalamt Cybercrime reporting office at [email protected].

Sources

• onlinesicherheit.gv.at: official Austrian reporting offices (Meldestellen)
• Bundeskriminalamt: Internetkriminalitaet / Cybercrime reporting
• Watchlist Internet: consumer information and scam reporting
• Gemeinsame Schlichtungsstelle der Oesterreichischen Kreditwirtschaft (banking conciliation board)
• FMA: complaints about financial service providers

For step-by-step reporting and recovery guides covering other countries, see our cybercrime help hub.