As of: February 7, 2024, 2:12 p.m
By: Andreas Seiler
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An elderly woman is talking on a cordless landline phone.
Many older people repeatedly fall for the so-called grandchild trick (symbolic image).
© dpa
An 80-year-old from Garmisch-Partenkirchen has fallen victim to fraudsters.
The perfidious means: the shock call.
Here, unscrupulousness proves to be the key to success.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen – The phone rings and the son, daughter or grandchild answers on the other end of the line in a tearful voice.
A shock for all parents and grandparents - and a now very popular scam: the shock call.
Unfortunately, despite intensive warnings, the crooks continue to find victims and rob them of their savings.
Gold coins and cash
The most recent case: On Tuesday (February 6th), an elderly man from Garmisch-Partenkirchen handed over gold coins and cash worth a lower five-figure amount to an unknown collector.
He only realized afterwards that he had fallen for unscrupulous fraudsters.
The criminal police took over the investigation and warned against the brazen rip-off.
According to the police headquarters in Upper Bavaria South, an unknown caller engaged the 80-year-old man in a conversation on the phone and told him that his son had caused a fatal traffic accident and that a deposit in the five-figure euro range would now have to be paid.
The caller pretended to be a police officer and faked consultations with the public prosecutor.
The person collecting the item disappears undetected
Since the older man didn't have the large amount demanded at home, he ended up handing gold coins and cash to a fraudster on his doorstep.
The injured party was previously promised that the deposit paid would be transferred back to their account.
The person collecting the goods was able to disappear undetected.
“The fraudsters' scams have been well known for a long time, but senior citizens in particular still fall victim and sometimes lose horrendous amounts of money,” said the police.
The Garmisch-Partenkirchen district is currently particularly badly affected.
We are talking about a real “wave”.
In Westried, an older woman was about to give the criminals 150,000 euros.
This could just be prevented.
Police advice:
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- Do not allow yourself to be put under pressure, not even by supposedly urgent investigations, for example about a burglary nearby or a deposit that absolutely has to be paid.
The police never ask for cash, transfers or valuables.
- Never give information about your belongings, cash or valuables over the telephone.
Just hang up!
- Do not let anyone into your home who wants to see where you keep money or jewelry.
Never call back using the number shown on the phone.
Do not press redial.
Hang up and dial the emergency number 110.
- Always report it to the police, even in the event of an experiment.
Younger people in particular are asked to speak openly about the perfidious scams used by telephone scammers and thereby raise awareness among relatives and acquaintances who could become victims.