Warning about kirchenbeitrag.com: Formally leaving the church suddenly costs €89.90

Summary

Why is this warning issued?

This warning was included because it is based on a report by Watchlist Internet. It is intended to protect other users from this type of fraud. The assessed risk is elevated.

How the scam works

• You search online for information about formally leaving the church and click on a Google ad.
• The advertising page opens and appears visually like a government contact point, but belongs to a private provider based abroad.
• You complete the purported online form, agree to the terms and conditions, and waive your right of withdrawal so that your application is supposedly processed immediately.
• The cost of €89.90 is not clearly displayed on the advertising page. It is only stated after an additional click on an information link.
• The provider then issues you with an invoice for €89.90, even though formally leaving a church in Austria is generally free.
• Your data are supposed to be forwarded to the competent authority. However, you must still complete the formal withdrawal yourself through verification using ID Austria or in person at the authority.

How to recognise it

• The page appears in a Google search ad and is designed to look like an official contact point.
• The page is operated by a private third-party provider based abroad.
• The page opened through the ad lacks a clear notice of costs. The price of €89.90 is only shown after an additional click on an information link.
• Completing the form requires consent to the terms and conditions and a waiver of the right of withdrawal.
• After the form is submitted, an invoice for €89.90 may arrive for merely forwarding the data.
• Even after the invoice is issued, the formal church withdrawal is not complete because verification through ID Austria or the competent authority is still required.
• Profit without participation or a “free” offer with a data request
• Upfront payment demanded for “fees/taxes”

How to protect yourself

• Do not pay the demanded €89.90 if the costs were not clearly displayed before you submitted the form.
• Reject the payment demand in writing and refer to the lack of a cost notice before the contract was concluded.
• After rejecting the demand in writing, you can ignore any subsequent payment reminders or collection notices from a debt collection agency. A debt collection agency is not an official authority and has no special legal powers.
• If you have already paid, ask your bank whether a reversal is possible.
• Seek assistance from the Internet Ombudsstelle.
• Complete the church withdrawal directly with the competent authority or through ID Austria. This is free. Official options can usually be recognized by addresses such as oesterreich.gv.at or by the pages of the competent authority.

What you should never do

• Do not simply pay because you have received an invoice. An invoice alone does not automatically make a demand payable.
• Do not provide any further data through an opaque private form or complete the withdrawal through the third-party provider.
• Do not rely on a hidden information page or a checkbox to make the claimed costs sufficiently clear.
• Do not respond to payment reminders or debt collection notices; reject the demand in writing instead.

Frequently asked questions

Affected data

Comments

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Original source

Update history

• 04/11/2026Description updated
• 03/11/2026Warning added from an official source