A total of 12 so-called "shock calls" were recorded by the Saarland police between Thursday morning (September 15, 2022) and Friday morning (September 16, 2022). While a vigilant bank employee in Wadern thwarted a money transfer, a 61-year-old woman from the regional association lost a large five-figure amount to the scammers.
An unknown female person called the victim's landline phone around noon on 15.09.2022 and identified herself as a police officer. She confronted the victim with the claim that her daughter had caused a fatal traffic accident. Only by paying bail could her detention be averted. Over a period of two hours, the fraudster effectively kept the victim tied to the phone, pressured her, and prevented her from questioning the situation or consulting with family and acquaintances. In Saarbrücken, the alleged bail was eventually handed over to a supposed employee of the court treasury of the Saarbrücken District Court.
A 79-year-old woman from Wadern also came into the sights of the fraudsters during yesterday morning. Under the pretext that the daughter had caused a traffic accident, a supposed police officer and the "daughter" on the phone pressured her to withdraw a bail amount of 40,000 euros from her bank. In this case, it was thanks to the vigilance of the bank employee that no money exchange took place. He questioned the situation and involved the police before the money was paid out.
This is how you can protect yourself from telephone scammers:
