Telephone fraudsters steal a lot of money in Thuringia with shock calls and fake bank employees

In the past few days, fraudsters have cheated people in Thuringia out of a lot of money using various scams over the telephone.

In one case, an unknown man called an 82-year-old woman in Erfurt, pretended to be a doctor and explained that he needed money for medication from abroad for the urgent treatment of a relative. In what the police report was a “convincing conversation,” the fraudster created pressure for time and action. The woman finally handed over a five-figure amount of money to a stranger who was waiting in front of her house on Friday.

Doctors and hospitals never demanded cash for treatment over the phone, the police emphasized. “If in doubt, relatives should be contacted and the police should be informed about the emergency call.”

Wrong bank employee

In Weimar, on the other hand, a caller contacted a 60-year-old and pretended to be a bank employee. In order to reverse supposedly unauthorized debits from her account, the woman should confirm a transaction in her banking app on Friday. According to the police, the affected person thereby released a transfer of more than 6,500 euros for an unknown recipient. During the course of the conversation, the woman became suspicious and reported the matter to the police. It is still unclear how the perpetrators were able to gain access to online banking.

The officials warned not to give any secret access data or TANs for transfers over the phone. When calling supposedly bank employees, the person being called should contact their bank using the official telephone number.

This is what the police recommend

The police repeatedly warn against various telephone fraud scams. According to the state and federal police crime prevention agencies, so-called shock calls are among the most common scams.

The perpetrators often specifically chose older people as victims. They then often told them stories about health, legal or financial emergencies of relatives. The perpetrators put the victims under emotional and temporal pressure. The callers often pretend to be police officers or other officials, lawyers or bank employees.

Tips on how to handle such calls and how to prevent them include:

Hang up immediately, collect yourself and call someone you trust at a known phone number.

Under no circumstances should personal information be passed on or money or valuables handed over to strangers.

Contact the police if a call seems suspicious.

Agree on a password for identification over the phone with family and friends

Shorten or delete the first name in the telephone book entry: perpetrators base themselves on first names that are typical for the generations of older people.