Unknown people are using various scams related to COVID-19

Scammers pose as health department personnel or pretend to be a doctor over the phone. The police advise you to pay particular attention to unknown people at the front door.

Be careful – fraudsters are using the current situation to gain access to the apartment or to steal money. The following warning is also sent via WhatsApp:

Screenshot mimikama.org
Screenshot mimikama.org

Hello everyone,
we just received a report that people are going from house to house and pretending to be people from the health department.
They are equipped with face masks, protective suits, etc. (Looks pretty real) and want to test people and get into their homes. These people are NOT from the health department. They are fraudsters who take advantage of people's current uncertainty and fear. Please be careful and please inform others. Kind regards

The fact check

Both the Stade police and the Southeast Hesse police warn of unknown people who are taking advantage of the fear of the new coronavirus:

IMPORTANT: If an illness is suspected, corona tests are only carried out when registered. Unannounced tests can be a scam.

Criminals are currently exploiting the fear of the corona virus in a variety of ways. Fake shops offer medical equipment and respiratory masks that customers never receive. Or they pose as infected relatives in order to steal money from their victims.

In the new variant, they pose as officials who wanted to carry out tests for the Covid-19 virus, primarily on older people. The fact is: no unannounced corona tests will be carried out at the front door!

These people usually aim to get into their victims' homes in order to look for cash, jewelry or other valuables. To do this, they pose as someone in need of help, a tradesman, a municipal utility employee or even an official, such as a police officer.

In a similar variant, criminals pose as doctors over the phone. They claim the person called is suspected of being infected with the corona virus. A person would come by and do a test. The cost for this: 200 euros.

Important to know: No comprehensive tests are carried out. A corona test must be requested. Only then will testers come to your home on an agreed date, as ordered by your treating doctor or the health authority, to carry out a test. The testers can identify themselves! If the test is ordered by a doctor, there are no costs for this!

The police therefore advise you to pay particular attention to unknown people at the front door.

Be careful of people who want to carry out corona tests:

  • If you are asked by telephone to carry out paid tests, hang up. Contact your family doctor or the health department and ask whether a test has been ordered for you.
  • Before opening the door, take a close look at visitors through the peephole or window. Only open the door with the locking bar in place.
  • Do not hand over money to supposed testers at your door. Don't let threats unsettle you.
  • Don't let strangers into your home. Appoint strangers again at a later date when someone you trust is present.
  • Defend yourself vigorously against intrusive visitors, speak to them loudly or call for help. If there is an acute threat, call the police on 110.
  • Report such incidents to your nearest police station.

Related to the topic: Warning about a current wave of calls from “fake police officers” and “fake doctors” in the Bitburg area

Source: police crime prevention


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )