He pretended to be deaf and dumb and asked buyers in front of a Rossmann branch for donations.
An elderly lady (82) only noticed too late that he was talking.
Frechen - In the parking lot of a Rossmann branch * in downtown Frechen, near Cologne, a man had asked for donations.
He said he was deaf and dumb and raised funds for people like him.
To do this, he asked passers-by for cash and instructed them to sign a list on a clipboard.
When an 82-year-old lady was approached by the stranger after shopping, she did not hesitate and donated five euros in cash.
It was only when she was walking on and thinking about what had just happened that she remembered: The man had just spoken to her, didn't he ?!
Scammers pretend to be deaf and dumb - and creams off
When she noticed the paradoxical situation and turned around, the 82-year-old saw the allegedly deaf and dumb man addressing another woman, according to
express.de
.
Immediately the lady turns around, runs back and confronts the brazen impostor.
But no chance - when the man realized that the tide had now turned, he ran away.
The two women then called the police to report the incident.
The officers eventually came across other passers-by who had fallen victim to the fraudster who, it also turned out, had an accomplice.
According to
express.de,
a woman had
even been stolen 50 euros, although she had only offered the fraudster ten euros.
Cologne: The clipboard scam - a brazen method of cheating
The fraudsters had apparently used the so-called clipboard scam. According to
express.de
, the police came to this conclusion
. This brazen scam is about holding the clipboard under the nose of the unsuspecting victim so that they can sign up on a fake list, only to literally pull their money or wallet out of their pockets. The police warn citizens to be extra vigilant in such cases. For the victims of this fateful afternoon, however, the only hope that currently remains is that the police will find the fraudsters - until then they will be left with the financial damage. After all: There is a very precise description of the perpetrator of the one perpetrator who so shamelessly took advantage of the 82-year-old lady's kindness, which will hopefully help the police to find the fraudster. (fh) tz.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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