Overview

• In Essen, a 92-year-old lost cash and jewelry worth a high five-figure sum after a caller posed as a lawyer and a man collected the items; police released a suspect description and requested tips.
• In Forstinning, Bavaria, an 85-year-old handed over about €30,000 to a purported police courier after a shock call about a fatal crash, and Kriminalpolizei Erding has opened an investigation.
• In Austria’s Krems district, a 77-year-old withdrew €12,200 and delivered it in Vienna to a man claiming to be a prosecutor following a call from a Spanish number alleging her son caused a deadly accident.
• In Wittenberge, Brandenburg, a 61-year-old was deceived online by a scammer posing as a celebrity and lost several thousand euros to supposed express-shipping fees.
• Police say the fraud rings operate in coordinated groups that surveil handover points and abort at signs of risk, and they urge people to hang up on suspicious calls, use known numbers to verify with relatives, and report attempts.