70-year-old woman loses 50,000 euros in love scam

A 70-year-old Austrian woman from the Mattersburg district has lost 50,000 euros in a love scam, ORF reported on Monday. She took out a loan for an online acquaintance and transferred the money to him.

According to police, the woman received a friendship request on a social network in mid-December 2025. She then communicated with the man through the associated messaging service before they exchanged phone numbers.

The man repeatedly told her about his alleged financial difficulties. She made several transfers to an account through the PayPal transaction service and also took out a 50,000-euro loan to send him the money.

The Burgenland State Police Directorate said further investigations were under way.

It is the second known love scam case in Burgenland this month. A 53-year-old man from the Jennersdorf district was reported last week to have lost a low six-figure sum in a similar case.