A fake bank employee got a 74-year-old in Pulheim near Cologne to reveal the access data for his account.
The fraudster called the man on Saturday afternoon and pretended to be a bank employee in the home office.
During the phone call, he asked his victim to reveal the PIN for the account, the police said on Monday.
Pulheim - The man complied with the request and only then noticed the fraud: The 74-year-old was able to watch the fraudster using the online banking platform to withdraw funds from the account during the phone call.
When the senior asked the swindler on the phone, he referred to technical reasons.
After the phone call, the 74-year-old had his account blocked immediately.
dpa