The LKA NRW warns:
By making several phone calls within a short period of time, the callers increase the psychological pressure on their victims, combined with appeals such as:
"Help me, please!". The perpetrators insist on absolute secrecy towards third parties (e.g. other relatives). Because they are supposedly unable to come themselves, they agree a password with the elderly person that a friend or acquaintance will give when they come to collect the money as a messenger. In numerous cases, the elderly victims have withdrawn large sums of money from their account after such conversations in order to help the supposed grandchild or other relative or acquaintance.
Grandchild scam in connection with the coronavirus:
In this new scam, the fraudsters pretend to be relatives who have contracted the virus and are now in hospital. Due to their illness, they urgently needed money for treatment or expensive medication. As they were in hospital themselves, they could only send a messenger to collect the money or valuables.
Your police recommend the following to relatives or loved ones of elderly people:
To protect older people, talk to them about the methods used by scam artists.
When you are called yourself:
> Make sure that the caller is really a relative. Always ask the caller to state their own name.
> Call them back using the number you know or have found yourself!
> Be suspicious if someone asks you for money over the phone.
> Simply hang up the phone as soon as the person you are talking to, e.g. often a supposed grandson, asks you for money!
> Never hand over money or valuables to people you don't know.
> Inform the police immediately by calling 110 if you think a call is suspicious.
> In any case, contact the police if you have become a victimand file a report.
Prevention tips for older people on other topics can be found in the brochures "Sicher Leben" and "Sicher zu Hause" as well as on the website of the Police Crime Prevention Program at: