Elderly woman in Krailling defrauded of six-figure sum – fraudster posed as police officer
An unknown caller persuaded a pensioner in Krailling to place cash, jewellery and gold in a cooking pot outside her door. The loss is believed to be in the low six-figure range.
Confidence fraud in Krailling: pensioner hands over savings and gold to bogus police officer
As reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, a woman from Krailling became the victim of a confidence fraud on Thursday, losing cash, jewellery and gold worth a low six-figure sum.
At around 12 o'clock, an unknown man called the pensioner and claimed to be a police officer. He alleged that he was investigating a burglary series in the neighbourhood. To protect her valuables, the woman was told to place them in a cooking pot outside her flat door – wrapped in aluminium foil. The caller explained that burglars were now using a device that could scan money and jewellery through walls.
The pensioner followed the instructions and was kept on the phone throughout. Just before 3 p.m. – the call had already ended by this time – she noticed that the contents of the pot had disappeared. The exact amount of the loss is still under investigation.
Fürstenfeldbruck criminal police are seeking witnesses who observed suspicious persons in the Bergstraße area. According to witness statements so far, the person who collected the pot could be a man aged around 20 to 25 years, approximately 175 centimetres tall, wearing a black t-shirt with a colourful motif and grey long trousers. The police are accepting information on telephone number 08141/61 20.
Police have clarified that they never call using the emergency number 110. They expressly warn against handing over money to strangers and appeal to relatives to inform elderly people about the methods used by such confidence fraudsters.
Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung