More and more older people in North Rhine-Westphalia are being ripped off by fraudsters. The number of victims more than doubled from 2016 to 2017. The number of unreported cases is high. In 2017 alone, fraudsters stole a total of around 15 million euros. In the previous year, the loot amounted to just under eight million euros.

Family members or loved ones should talk to older people about the methods used by con artists.

The "grandchildren scam"

The con artists call older people pretending to be relatives (usually grandchildren or nephews) or good acquaintances: "Guess who's on the phone?" They then feign a financial shortage and ask for large sums of cash because they need the money immediately due to an emergency. By making several phone calls in a short space of time, the perpetrators increase the psychological pressure on senior citizens, combined with appeals such as: "Please help me!" The fraudsters ask for absolute confidentiality towards family and friends. Because they are supposedly unable to come themselves, they agree a password with the elderly person that a friend or acquaintance will give when they come to collect the money as a messenger. In numerous cases, the elderly victims have withdrawn large sums of money from their account after such conversations in order to help the supposed grandchild.

Tips from the police against grandchild scams

• Be careful if someone asks you for money over the phone
• Just hang up the phone as soon as the person you are talking to, often a supposed grandchild, asks you for money.
• Make sure that the caller is really a relative. Call him back.
• Never hand over money to unknown persons.
• Inform the police immediately if you think a call is suspicious: Emergency number 110!
• In any case, contact the police if you have become a victim and file a report.
• If you have any questions, the officers at your local police station who are specially trained in victim protection will be happy to help.

The "fake police officer" scam

The scammers pretend to be police officers to make their story seem credible. They often call older people and manipulate their victims over the phone for hours. They try to win the victims' trust with convincing stories. Allegedly, a burglary in the apartment or house is imminent or the police have found black money in their accounts. In all cases, the perpetrators urge the victims to hand over valuables and cash to a "colleague" for their own protection. In order not to jeopardize the investigation, the victim should not talk to anyone about the incident. The perpetrators use clever conversational techniques to persuade the victims to take all their cash and sometimes even the contents of safe deposit boxes home and then hand them over to a supposed police officer.

Tips from the police against fake police officers

• Ask for the name, hang up, call your local police authority on 110 and describe the situation.
• Do not give unknown persons any information about your financial circumstances or other sensitive data.
• Do not open the door to unknown persons.
• Call in a trusted person.
• Never hand over money or valuables to unknown persons, alleged employees of the police, public prosecutor's office, courts or financial institutions.
• If you are the victim of such a call, always contact the police and file a complaint.