In the fight against fraudulent shock callers, the Göttingen police achieved success on Thursday (May 19, 2022) in close cooperation with a couple from the district. Investigators from “SäM Südniedersachsen” and other officers arrested a suspected person collecting money in downtown Göttingen in the afternoon as part of a fake money handover. The 32-year-old suspect was brought before the judge at the request of the Göttingen public prosecutor. He issued an arrest warrant due to the risk of absconding.
The couple involved in the success had received a call about two hours before the man's arrest in which an alleged police officer claimed that their daughter had caused a fatal accident and then claimed that the accident victim's relatives would be given a "bail" to pay a "bail". waive criminal charges. The couple recognized the fraud immediately, but still pretended to get involved and informed the police at the same time.
The receipt of the information immediately triggered several police measures, including covert ones. With the help of uninterrupted telephone contact with the couple, investigators were finally able to access the agreed money handover location and arrest the suspect. The 32-year-old suspected fraudster offered no resistance.
Further investigations are ongoing.
The “SäM Südniedersachsen” investigative group has been working since January 2022
The investigative group “SäM Südniedersachsen” was set up in January in response to the continually increasing number of cases in connection with fraud to the detriment of older people in the Central Criminal Investigation Department of the Göttingen Police Department.
The classic grandchild trick, the new grandchild trick via WhatsApp, shock calls and cases of fake police officers asking for cash and valuables are dealt with here.
“As head of the investigation team, I would like to emphasize that the successful arrest was a real team effort. Internally and externally. Of course, we can always fall back on our experience in this area of crime, but here the couple we called and the bank made an excellent contribution to the success!” said Police Commissioner Björn Wiesbaum.
So-called “shock calls” are currently in first place in the ranking of scams. However, there are signs that they will be replaced by the so-called grand trick 2.0. The perpetrators no longer make contact by phone, but instead write to the victims via WhatsApp.
“New manifestations such as the grandchild trick via WhatsApp show that the perpetrators are also moving with the times and expanding their scope of action. “They are no longer limited exclusively to older people,” says the head of the Central Criminal Investigation Department of the Göttingen Police Department, Criminal Director Oliver Tschirner.
How does the scam work?
“I have a new number…”
“The injured parties receive a message via WhatsApp messenger that they have a new number and the old one can be deleted. When asked, the unknown contact confirms that he is the son/daughter and shortly afterwards asks to pay an invoice because he/she does not have access to online banking. These are automated spam messages and are often sent to people without children. The poor spelling and salutations alone are suspicious, who knows their parents anyway? If in doubt, call your relative on the old number and clarify the matter,” investigator Wiesbaum strongly advises.
Related: Our articles on the topic of “shock calls”
Source: Press portal
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