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Fake police officers in Munich: Seniors lose 130,000 euros!
Two senior citizens from Ludwigsvorstadt fell victim to a scam in which callers pretended to be police officers.
Fake police officers in Munich: Seniors lose 130,000 euros!
Recently, worrying cases of fraud have become known in Munich that specifically target older people. Two seniors recently fell victim to an unscrupulous scam in which the fraudsters posed as police officers. Loud Evening newspaper Munich The callers tried to convince the seniors to put their valuables outside the door to secure them.
In the first case, a woman over 80 years old from Ludwigsvorstadt was contacted on Tuesday afternoon. The caller posed a perceived danger due to a break-in in her neighborhood. The pensioner then packed jewelry, cash and debit cards worth around 50,000 euros into a stainless steel pot and placed it in front of the door. An hour later the pot and the valuables were gone.
Another terrible incident
A similar thing happened to a 75-year-old pensioner from Ismaning who received a call from what was supposed to be a police officer on July 23rd. She talked about a series of burglaries and convinced the woman to pack all the cash, gold coins and jewelry into a large pot and also put them in front of the door. In this case too, the pensioner noticed 30 minutes after the call that the pot had disappeared. The damage caused by the loot rose to a whopping 80,000 euros.
Both incidents have been reported to police and highlight the dangers such scams pose to older people. Nursing assistance points out that fraudsters often target seniors in order to obtain their savings through targeted deception.
Protective measures and prevention
Given these incidents, it is important to raise awareness among older adults about common scams. For example, the so-called grandchild trick is often used, in which fraudsters pose as family members and ask for money. Seniors should be urged to be suspicious of unknown calls and to verify the caller's identity by asking specific questions.
A particularly important piece of advice is not to give valuables to strangers. Care Panorama recommends contacting 110 for questions if a call appears suspicious. In addition, relatives should be actively involved in protecting their elderly relatives in order to avoid potential losses.
In conclusion, increasing digitalization is also giving rise to new forms of fraud, such as cyber fraud, in which seniors are lured into a trap through phishing attacks and false emails. Education about such methods is therefore becoming increasingly important.