Fraudulent shock call: 36,000 euros stolen from seniors!

Fraudulent shock call: 36,000 euros stolen from seniors!

On Wednesday afternoon, the Mansfeld-Südharz district experienced an alarming event: a total of four shock calls directed against older citizens were reported. Between 1:45 p.m. and 4:15 p.m., a man and a woman contacted several people over 80 and made them believe that their daughters had been involved in a fatal accident. The callers eventually demanded that the affected mothers have to pay a supposed deposit in order to get their children released. In two cases, the victims fell for this perfidious scam and handed over a total of 36,000 euros to the fraudsters who were waiting at the front door. When the hoax was finally discovered, the perpetrators had already left. As mz.de reports, the police assume that the perpetrators are migrant criminals who move from region to region.

The description of the perpetrators is as follows: The first was male, between 20 and 25 years old, about 1.90 m tall with dark blonde, short hair, dressed in a shirt and gray jeans. His accomplice was also said to be in the same age group, with dark hair, wearing a white T-shirt and dark jeans, and around 1.80 m tall. The police are asking for information on 03475/6700 in order to arrest these fraudsters.

Increased risk of shock calls

Shock calls are not a new phenomenon, but they have recently increased significantly. As the Polizei-Beratungsstelle explains, the fraudsters often pose as relatives or police officers. They put those they call under pressure by telling stories about alleged traffic accidents or urgent operations that require immediate monetary payments. The victims are then under immense time pressure, which makes it difficult for them to view the situation rationally.

• Bei Unsicherheiten sollte umgehend die Nummer 110 gewählt werden.
• Das Auflegen ist ratsam, wenn man sich unter Druck gesetzt fühlt.
• Angehörige sollten unter den bekannten Nummern kontaktiert werden.
• Es ist wichtig, keine persönlichen Informationen am Telefon preiszugeben.

On top of that, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) warned in a report on May 24, 2023 that the perpetrators usually act emotionally manipulatively. The pressure to provide financial help can be so strong that victims often do not even consider calling the police or asking a third party for advice. The approach is also perfidious: the callers are often supported locally by accomplices who organize the handover of the money in the background and listen to the callers.

Prevention measures

The best weapon against such attempted fraud remains education. Police advise not to respond to such calls and not to provide any financial or personal information. In addition, older people in particular should be sensitized in order to protect them from these treacherous methods. For those who are already affected, there is support from advice centers such as the “WEISSER RING”, which can be reached on the nationwide number 116 006.

Stay alert and trust your gut feeling: If you get a strange call, it's better to hang up and talk to your family or the police. Protect yourself and your loved ones from these unscrupulous scammers!