Fraudsters impersonating police – 26-year-old arrested in Waldshut
In the Waldshut district, two elderly women fell victim to fraudsters who impersonated police officers and stole jewellery and gold bars worth approximately €80,000. A 26-year-old has been arrested.
False police officer: pensioner defrauded of heirlooms and gold
An 83-year-old woman from the Waldshut district received a call from someone who claimed to be a police officer. The man reported a series of burglaries and said that one suspect had already been caught – but a second one still had to be apprehended. Her valuables were not safe, warned the fraudster.
The pensioner believed him. She handed over jewellery and valuables the same day, including heirlooms from her mother and grandmother. The next day, the same man called again and asked her to empty her safe deposit box. He justified this by referring to the bank robbery in Gelsenkirchen, in which thousands of safe deposit boxes had been broken into – a case the woman knew about from the newspaper. She handed over gold coins and gold bars worth approximately €80,000. Only then did she inform the real police.
According to swr.de, this case is currently being heard by Waldshut-Tiengen Regional Court. An 89-year-old woman from the district was also contacted by the same fraudsters. She initially handed over jewellery and cash, but then became suspicious and called the police. The investigators gave her fake gold bars for a planned handover – during which a 26-year-old was arrested. The man admits through his lawyer that he was a "collector", but makes no statements about possible accomplices.
Psychologist Sophie Nolden from the University of Freiburg explains why people fall for such fraud despite years of warnings. Fear, stress and time pressure are decisive. In such exceptional situations, the brain tries to avert an apparent threat quickly. Affected individuals therefore question the stories less thoroughly and can remember previous warnings less well. This can happen to people of any age.
In addition to financial losses, there are often psychological consequences such as trauma and feelings of shame. Nolden recommends those affected seek help and also report failed fraud attempts. For protection, she recommends so-called "if-then" sentences that one memorises in advance – for example: "If I receive bad news, I won't give anyone money or valuables." Such mnemonics could also be hung on a note next to the telephone.
In the Freiburg area alone, police registered 319 calls from false police officers within Germany last year. Calls from perpetrators operating from abroad are recorded separately – their number is approximately twice as high. In the Offenburg area, 649 out of a total of 697 registered cases come from abroad. The police presidiums assume there is a larger unreported figure, as those affected often do not go to the police if fraud attempts fail.
In Merklingen in the Alb-Donau district, a 69-year-old saw through the false police officers' trick in time. He secretly informed the real police, who shortly afterwards arrested two suspects. Nolden emphasises that anyone can fall for such schemes. Those affected should not blame themselves – what is important is to talk to others about it and seek support.
Source: Die Zeit Kriminalität