The claim

Alleged employees of the police and public prosecutor's office said by telephone that the son/daughter had caused a traffic accident in which one person was killed. Now he/she is in custody and can only be released on high bail – a five-figure amount.

Our conclusion

This is a so-called “shock call”. Under enormous pressure, the perpetrators demanded that they collect cash and hand it over. Be immediately skeptical if you are asked for money – especially large amounts – over the phone!

“Your son is in custody after a fatal traffic accident, you can only help him with 10,000 euros” – Don’t believe that!

It is a perfidious lie that is intended to cause one thing above all else: a shock. For this reason, the police also call the scam, which is currently increasingly appearing again in Dortmund and Lünen, a “shock call”. Criminal callers rely on the exceptional emotional situation into which they put those they call with their lies. Just like yesterday (Thursday 31st): In a case from Dortmund, fraudsters were able to make prey in exactly the same way, and in another case in Lünen, the fraud was prevented by an attentive bank employee.

The story the callers told was very similar in both cases. It was about the son of the 78-year-old from Dortmund and the 80-year-old from Lüne. Alleged police and prosecutors said he caused a traffic accident in which one person was killed. He is now in custody and can only be released on a high bail - a five-figure amount. Under enormous pressure, the perpetrators asked the two women to collect and hand over cash.

The fraud was discovered for the woman from Lüneburg when she wanted to collect the money from her financial institution. The employee there became suspicious and alerted the police. The Dortmund woman handed the money over to an alleged employee of the court treasury in front of the district court in Dortmund at around 7:10 p.m.

In this case, the police are now asking for witnesses who may have observed the perpetrator. He is said to have come from the direction of Hamburger Strasse and, after handing over the money to the senior citizen's vehicle, left in that direction again. He is said to have been around 175 cm tall and around 30 years old. He had very dark hair with a slight receding hairline and no beard and was of a chubby build. He was wearing a dark blue sweater and an unzipped black anorak.

Witnesses please contact the criminal investigation service on Tel. 0231/132-7441.

Numerous citizens contacted the police again yesterday and reported similar attempted crimes. It was always about the same lie. Luckily, the people called responded exactly right and hung up immediately.

Tips on how to protect yourself from these scammers:


  • Be immediately skeptical if you are asked for money – especially large amounts – over the phone! Our tip: Question such a demand in every case - no matter who it comes from: an alleged family member or someone who claims to be a police officer or public prosecutor. And if in doubt, just hang up.
  • The simplest advice on how you can protect yourself from these and similar telephone scams is the following: When making such requests for financial assistance, always make sure that the call is legitimate using your own known channels. In other words: Call your son/daughter or their relatives using known contact points - no matter what a caller tells you. Find out personally whether what you just heard on the phone is true.
  • This also applies to calls from alleged police officers. Call 110 and find out whether there is really an investigation into your person.
  • Important: Older people are particularly affected by such fraudulent acts and attempts. So talk to older people around you and encourage them. Educate them about the stitches. Make them available to you so that if they have any doubts, they can also turn to you if they receive suspicious calls.
  • If you would like to find out more about prevention, the Dortmund Commissariat for Prevention has two offers available:

Source: Dortmund police


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