They mostly pose as older people's children and want to persuade them to transfer money.

Grandchildren's trick relies on emotions

"Hello mum! My phone is broken. But I urgently need to transfer something. Could you do that for me?"

Example phrase

The most familiar-sounding text message from grandchild scammers goes like this or something similar. The messages are often decorated with hearts and kissy emoticons to suggest an emotional connection to the sender. But then the supposed child asks for help. It writes that an urgent bill needs to be paid and that is not yet possible with the new smartphone. Other reasons are also welcome. It is said that the money, usually three to four-digit sums, would be returned as quickly as possible. The fraudsters use the supposedly protected space of private chats and were unfortunately also successful in the St. Wendel district. The victims of the grandchild trick suffered four-digit damage.

The police in St. Wendel advise

  • Be suspicious here and reassure yourself!
  • To check, you can call the old number you know and trust.
  • Even if you don't get an answer straight away, never let yourself be rushed or put under pressure in the chat!
  • Talk to your relatives! So much time has to be.
  • If the transfer still occurs, you can contact your bank immediately and arrange for a return transfer.
  • Save the messages you receive and, in the event of fraud, take them with you to report it to the police.

Grandchild trick variant shock call

The scam with so-called “shock calls” also remains popular with fraudsters. Alleged police officers suggest over the phone that a relative is in distress or has fatally injured another person in a traffic accident and demand horrendous sums of money as bail for the alleged relative. Here too, the perpetrators unfortunately managed to steal a five-figure sum from a victim.

Stay calm in the event of a shock call!

To avoid becoming a victim of such a “shock call” yourself, follow the police’s advice:

  • Be suspicious and keep calm!
  • Do not allow information about family and friends to be elicited from you over the phone.
  • Never hand over money or valuables to strangers!
  • To check, call your relatives on the numbers you know and / or tell someone you trust about the calls.

Remember: the treatment of an accident victim is never dependent on the prior payment of a sum of money. You also cannot avoid prosecution by paying a large sum of money. If something seems suspicious, listen to your gut feeling and just hang up! A healthy mistrust is not rudeness!

Source: Sankt Wendel police station

The propaganda in the Ukraine war uses every means to justify the war. Here is a Mimikama fact check on a current fake news: Ukraine did not operate the largest child pornography ring in 2012!


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