We still receive inquiries about the fraudulent smoke detector controllers, which are repeatedly warned about via Facebook.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2019: PLEASE READ OUR CURRENT FACT CHECK ON THIS TOPIC. YOU CAN FIND THIS AT: https://www.mimikama.org/general/rauchmelder-betrug-faktencheck/

It is not entirely clear whether it is a fake or whether there are actually fraudsters around who pose as inspectors and thus gain access to the house.

The current text is as follows:

Screenshot by mimikama.org
Screenshot by mimikama.org

We are currently receiving an internal report from the fire department. ..there are people out and about who work their way from house to house and want to check whether the smoke detectors, which have been legally required since January, are there... don't let them in and call the police. ...an organized crime gang!!!

Keep posting!! Please don't let anyone in!!! PLEASE SHARE LOTS

text from 2016 also warned in November 2018.

On January 18, 2016, we published three different articles on the topic. It started with a warning message via Facebook and a message from the Bremen police on January 14, 2016 , in which, according to the police, a woman in Bremen had actually fallen victim to the scam.

On January 18, 2016, the Stade police it clear that neither firefighters nor other officers would come to the house to check the smoke detector requirement from January 1, 2016 and that some of these fraudsters would announce themselves via WhatsApp.

On the same day, Aalen police published a press release of a “complete false report” warning against fraudsters who pretend to be firefighters, go from house to house and pretend to want to check smoke detectors, as no specific incidents have been reported in this regard .

Yes, what now?

In order to clarify the exact facts, one would have to travel back to 2016 and be physically present in both Bremen and Aalen and research how exactly what happened and when.

Since an answer would now be pure speculation, let's look at the facts again:

  1. The Bremen police announced on January 14, 2016 that a 79-year-old Bremen woman was robbed by two men who posed as smoke detector inspectors.
  2. On January 18, 2016, the Stade police warned of “a new scam by suspected sneak-in thieves - smoke detector checks, sometimes with announcements via the short message service WhatsApp
  3. Also on January 18, 2016, 600 km further south, the Aalen police warned of a “complete false report” regarding smoke detector inspectors, although no specific incidents in this regard had yet been reported to them.
  4. Two years after the warning first appeared on Facebook and the police report from Bremen, there are still active warnings about this scam - no specific location is mentioned.

Schrödinger's Ka… Smoke detector controllers

Since we were unfortunately denied funding for a time machine, do we have to make do with the verifiable facts - and then build a thesis out of them?

Suppose on January 14, 2016, an elderly woman is robbed by two men posing as smoke detector inspectors and someone reads the police report and thinks, “Oh no! How terrible! The best thing I can do is warn all my friends on Facebook so that this doesn’t happen to them!”

No sooner said than done, this person creates the warning and many others share it on Facebook, so that it quickly reaches Aalen, 600 km away.

The local police get wind of the warning and can't explain how what where - because no one had reported an incident to them yet. In Aalen, this warning is a false report. In Bremen, however, it wasn't.

And the chaos begins...

But of course this is pure speculation ...

Result:

Whatever might have happened, it is a fact that even in 2018 there are warnings about the smoke detector controllers several times a year and it is always the same message from 2016. The text is still identical today.

So we are dealing with a chain letter here, which, according to the Bremen police, is based on a real incident in 2016.

Last but not least, it should be noted again that there is a possibility that fraudsters COULD use this exact scam.

However, at the moment there are no current police reports of any further real incidents.

Nevertheless, the same applies as in 2016:

Unannounced smoke detector inspectors should NEVER into the house and should also be reported immediately to the police so that they can issue an official and current (!!!) report.


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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 )