Overview
- A cluster of linked cases from Wednesday to Friday this week produced both large losses and arrests as callers posed as police, prosecutors, bank staff or doctors to trick elderly victims.
- In Durlach a woman handed over about €40,000 in cash, jewelry and valuables after a caller ordered a staged collection at her home.
- Two suspects aged 22 and 27 were arrested in Bad Homburg after bank employees grew suspicious when the men tried to collect valuables for an 84-year-old victim.
- Police in the Bamberg area say attackers manipulated the number shown on victims’ phones so it looked like calls came from the victim’s bank, allowing nearly €20,000 to be stolen from one account.
- Officers are investigating regionally, asking for witness reports and private camera footage, and warning that officials or hospitals never request cash, valuables or passwords by phone.