Retired couple in Husum loses 100,000 euros to brazen con artists!

Retired couple in Husum loses 100,000 euros to brazen con artists!

In Husum, North Frisia, a retired couple has become a serious victim of fraud. A phone call that turned out to be a shock call cost the two of them a total of 100,000 euros. The caller pretended to be her son and claimed to have killed another person in a serious traffic accident. Such tricks are alarmingly common, and the Flensburg Police Department warns against them.

After the alleged son cried for help, a short time later an alleged chief inspector, Schäfer, came forward and urgently asked the couple to pay a deposit in order to prevent the alleged imprisonment of their son. In a stressed state, the couple handed over both cash and gold coins to a so-called district court employee. However, after the handover, the caller could no longer be reached, which ultimately worried the two pensioners.

Staggered transfer of money under pressure

The first money handover took place on Wednesday around 12.30 p.m. The alleged police officer remained on the phone throughout the conversation, which put additional pressure on the elderly couple. A short time later, the caller asked for a higher deposit, which led the pensioner to go to a bank and withdraw more money. Just an hour later, the second handover took place, which cost the two of them even more money. It didn't take long after this second handover for the couple to realize that they had been cheated.

The criminal police in Husum are now looking for witnesses who may have observed something suspicious. The person collecting the money is described as a male, aged 20 to 30, with a height of around 175 to 185 centimeters. At the time of the crime he was wearing sunglasses and a dark anorak with a hood and spoke German without an accent. Anyone who has seen a person matching this description in the Husum city center area is urged to contact the police on (04841) 83 00.

How you can protect yourself from shock calls

Considering that numerous pensioners have already been contacted by similar scammers, the police offer several important tips to keep in mind when dealing with shock calls:

• Seien Sie misstrauisch, besonders wenn ein Anrufer Ihnen von einem Unglück eines Angehörigen berichtet und Geld verlangt.
• Überprüfen Sie die Informationen und kontaktieren Sie sofort Ihre Angehörigen, um die Situation zu klären.
• Wenn Sie Zweifel haben, beenden Sie das Gespräch und rufen Sie umgehend die Polizei unter 110 an.
• Die Polizei wird nie am Telefon nach Bargeld oder Wertsachen fragen.
• Lassen Sie keine größeren Bargeldbeträge oder Wertsachen zu Hause, sondern bewahren Sie diese in einem Bankschließfach auf.

It is important to be regularly informed about the scammers' scams so as not to fall into such a trap. Fraudsters are resourceful and use various channels to reach their victims - be it by phone, WhatsApp or even at the front door. If you want to learn more about the typical fraud patterns, you can find out more here.