Fraud crimes such as the “grandchild trick” or in connection with alleged police officers, also commonly referred to as “fake police officers”, were a marginal phenomenon until a few years ago.

Fake police officers and the grandchild trick: In this nationwide phenomenon of so-called “call crimes”, the perpetrators often keep the victim on the phone for hours and put massive pressure on them.

The perpetrators usually operate from call centers abroad, contact almost exclusively older, predominantly female victims, often using fake telephone numbers (“spoofing”) and pretend to be police officers from the local police station. Furthermore, those called are often led to believe that due to a planned burglary it is necessary to have cash and jewelry temporarily seized by the police until the perpetrators are arrested. With the confidence that you are speaking to the “right” police, cash, jewelry, gold bars and EC cards are then handed over to those who collect them. It is not uncommon for “fake public prosecutors” or “notaries” to be called in to support the alleged police officer’s statements.

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Grandchildren trick

In the “grandchild trick,” fraudsters pose on the phone as grandchildren, nephews or even children of the senior citizen and fake a financial emergency. Assuming they are helping a relative, the seniors go to their financial institution to withdraw the money requested. They then hand the amount over to a messenger sent by the supposed relative.

Fake police officers

Fraud crimes in the form of “fake police officers” are by far the most common “modus operandi” of call-related crimes. While the number of registered cases in the Mannheim police headquarters area was 19 cases in 2015, the number of cases rose from 87 in 2016 758 in 2017 to 1,454 offenses in 2018. There is no valid data available for 2019 yet.

Fortunately, around 98.5 percent of these crimes remained at the experimental stage in 2018. Although the perpetrators were only successful in 22 cases or 1.5 percent of all cases, they still caused damage of almost 760,000 euros.

The clearance rate in this difficult area of ​​investigation was less than 5 percent due to the high number of cases that remain at the experimental stage. However, if you look at the number of cases in which damage actually occurred, the clearance rate in 2018 was over 60 percent. Fourteen of the 22 cases were resolved.

Since the beginning of 2020, the region (Mannheim/Heidelberg/Rhein-Neckar district) has been flooded with “grandchild trick” calls and “fake police officer” calls. While 20 cases of gang fraud using “grandchild tricks” were registered in the first two weeks of the new year, 105 crimes were reported to the police by so-called “fake police officers”. However, based on previous experience, the number of unreported crimes that have not yet been reported is likely to be very high.

While the vast majority remained in the experimental stage, perpetrators were successful in three cases. They stole a total of tens of thousands of euros in cash and coins.

On Friday, January 10th, a previously unknown man contacted a 90-year-old senior citizen in Weinheim who posed as a grandson and pretended to have been in a traffic accident. He needs a five-figure amount to repair the vehicle. To drive the lady to the bank, the stranger ordered a taxi for her. Back home, a woman (around 50 years old; light blonde, shoulder-length hair; slim; German appearance), who acted as a messenger, picked up the money and jewelry. Fortunately, another case on the same day in Hirschberg-Leutershausen with identical facts failed. An attentive bank employee did not hand the money to the 76-year-old customer.

On Tuesday, January 14th, an 80-year-old couple from Mannheim was defrauded of a very large sum by a “grandchild fraudster”. The caller, who introduced herself as a relative named Claudia, claimed to need a large sum of cash to purchase a property. The couple, who live in the city center, handed coins and gold bars to a person collecting them (approx. 35-40 years old; approx. 165-170 cm; normal figure; conspicuous fingernails; headscarf, spoke German with an accent).

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On Monday, January 13th and Tuesday, January 14th, a similar case occurred in Sandhausen that can hardly be surpassed in terms of audacity. A previously unknown caller posed as a police officer to a 73-year-old woman and tricked her into believing that an investigation was underway against employees of local banks. To support the statements, another caller called in who identified himself as a public prosecutor. Both on Tuesday and the following Wednesday, the caller put the woman under such psychological pressure that late on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after 5 p.m., she finally gave a large amount of cash to a collector (approx. 30 years old; approx. 175- 185 cm; dark, short hair; dark complexion, dark eyes, dark clothing, brown shoes).

Since it cannot be ruled out that there could be further similar fraud offenses in the form of the “grandchild trick” and the “fake police officer” in the next few days and weeks, the Mannheim Police Headquarters asks you to take the following into account:

  • Always be suspicious when people on the phone pretend to be relatives, acquaintances or even police officers and ask about financial circumstances.
  • The police will never ask you for any amount of money.
  • The police will never call you on the police emergency number 110.
  • Never talk about your personal or financial circumstances on the phone.
  • Always consult family members.
  • Don't let yourself be put under pressure on the phone. Don't give scammers a chance, just hang up the phone. That's not rude at all!

You should hang up if:

  • You're not sure who's calling.
  • The caller asks you for personal information and your financial situation, for example whether you have cash, jewelry or other valuables in the house.
  • The caller asks you to hand over cash, jewelry or other valuables or to transfer money, especially abroad.
  • The caller puts you under pressure.
  • the caller asks you to contact strangers, for example a messenger who should take your money and valuables.

Do you think you have fallen victim to a fraud by a fake police officer or a trick? Contact the local police station immediately and file a report.

In all cases in question, the Economic Crime Inspectorate of the Heidelberg Criminal Police Directorate took over the investigation.

Source: Mannheim Police


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