Overview

• Police and prosecutors searched 25 homes and businesses on October 7 in Dormagen, Düsseldorf, Cologne and the Rhein-Erft district under court warrants.
• Five men aged 18 to 24, described as German and Italian, were arrested and remanded in custody, and a further warrant was executed on a 20-year-old already in jail.
• The scheme involved callers posing as bank employees, citing supposed suspicious account activity to obtain victims’ PINs and bank cards, often collected in person.
• Specialist units ZeOS NRW and EK Debit are examining seized evidence and pursuing ongoing inquiries, with additional measures considered possible.
• In a separate case, police used phone location data to arrest a suspect after a €30,000 ‘shock call’ to a 95-year-old in Erfurt who handed over cash.