Crime - Shock call - 92-year-old leads police to telephone fraudster
A careful 92-year-old in Swabia noticed a scam and contributed to the arrest of a suspect. According to the police, two criminals called the senior in Lindau am Bodensee on July 4th. The scammers claimed that his son needed to pay several tens of thousands of euros as a bail for an alleged fatal accident.
When the man stated that he didn't have the money, the criminals, as reported by the police, asked for gold and jewelry. During the conversation, the 92-year-old became suspicious and remembered a prevention poster about phone scams he had seen at his doctor's visit the previous day.
Therefore, he didn't hand anything over to the 24-year-old pick-up man at his house. Instead, he provided the officers with a detailed description of the suspect. The police also learned which direction the man had gone. The young man was later arrested in Lindau by the police, and he is now in detention.
The Police in Swabia South/West reported over 1.1 million euros in damages this year due to so-called shock calls - in the previous year, it was approximately 900,000 euros.
The scam attempt took place in Lindau am Bodensee, which is located in the Swabia region of Bavaria near Lake Constance. The 92-year-old's vigilance prevented a significant financial loss, as the scammers were seeking several tens of thousands of euros. The arrest of the suspect happened in the same city where the fraud attempt occurred, after the senior provided detailed information to the Baden-Württemberg Police. The incident served as a reminder of the prevalence of phone scams, with shock calls causing over 1.1 million euros in damages in Swabia South/West this year, a notable increase from the previous year.
