Brazen scam: fraudsters organize fake trade fairs and steal from senior citizens

Created: 12/21/2022, 5:24 p.m

By: Jana Ballweber

Older people in particular are often victims of scammers.

In Frankfurt, two men have now tried a very lousy scam.

Frankfurt – With a particularly bold scam, fraudsters tried to pull jewelry out of the pockets of senior citizens in Frankfurt last week.

They invented an alleged "fair" in a hotel on Europaallee in Frankfurt and pretended to want to buy furs, jewellery, gold and other valuables.

As reported by the police, the fraudsters even advertised the fair in a regional weekly newspaper.

But the manager of the hotel quickly became suspicious and informed the police about the fair, for which the suspected fraudsters had rented the conference room for just under a week, reports fnp.de.

Seniors are taken in by fraudsters at the fake trade fair in Frankfurt

The officials initially observed what was happening in the hotel inconspicuously in civilian clothes.

Again and again they saw how older people with suitcases or bags entered the hotel and inquired about the fair.

The organizer also specifically addressed older people in the hotel lobby and led them into the conference room.

The police were just able to prevent a woman from becoming a victim of con artists in Frankfurt.

© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa/symbol image

When the police questioned the visitors, it turned out that the organizers had not shown any interest in the furs they had brought with them.

Instead, they kept asking about jewelry and precious metals.

Woman almost falls victim to fraudsters in Frankfurt: police intervene just in time

In the case of a 66-year-old woman, the scammers' scam finally seemed to work.

She left the hotel with a 22-year-old man posing as a buyer.

Both drove to the woman's home, where they entered the apartment together.

When the 22-year-old came out again, the police checked him - and promptly found what he was looking for.

In addition to a watch worth 11,000 euros and 13,000 euros in cash, the man also carried a small plastic bag with gold jewelry.

Gold jewellery, for which he later gave the woman just 100 euros in cash - with the claim that the jewelery was worth nothing anyway.

Arrest in Frankfurt: scammers only pay victims 100 euros for gold jewelry worth 1900 euros

A lie, as it turned out when the police later had the jewelry checked by a gold dealer.

The allegedly worthless jewelry was actually worth around 1,900 euros.

The police arrested both the 22-year-old buyer and the 36-year-old organizer of the fake fair.

They are now free again.

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Again and again, senior citizens in particular fall victim to scammers who rob them of their jewelry or cash.

The so-called grandchild trick is particularly popular - and unfortunately still successful in many cases.

On the internet, too, people are always being taken in by scammers.

(Jana Ballweber)