Overview

• Police from 16 German states, the BKA and prosecutors from eight European countries met in Teltow under the EU-funded ISF Lumen project to coordinate operations against telephone fraud.
• Germany logged 6,656 cases of Enkeltrick scams last year with losses in the multi-million-euro range and an unknown number of unreported incidents.
• A late-2024 operation led by the Baden-Württemberg LKA and Europol dismantled three call centers in Poland, arrested 20 suspects and blocked nearly 400 attempts worth €5 million.
• Berlin’s crackdown on local call centers drove a 50 percent drop in Enkeltrick cases in 2024 and has kept figures markedly lower so far this year.
• Authorities warn that organized Eastern European family networks are adapting and expanding into new countries, underscoring the need for sustained international cooperation.