Overview
- In Halver, callers imitating a son and a prosecutor drove a woman into a night-long 200‑kilometre trip through North Rhine-Westphalia before she reached a police station around 4 a.m. without handing over money.
- Police say the perpetrators demanded a high five‑figure “bail” and kept continuous phone contact, a tactic designed to stop victims from thinking, according to spokesman Christof Hüls.
- The route included instructions to go to Lüdenscheid and then multiple addresses in Düsseldorf, with the plan repeatedly changing until the victim ended contact and called the real police.
- Authorities report a recent spike in such calls around Starnberg, Geretsried and Dietramszell in Bavaria, using narratives of false police, supposed burglars’ lists, staged accidents and even a fake doctor scheme.
- A nationwide prevention campaign is under way, with local outreach at weekly markets this month, and police stress that real officials never request cash or valuables by phone and urge people to hang up, call 110 directly and verify with family.