Jena (dpa/th) – An 82-year-old from Kahla handed over 22,000 euros and jewelry worth 10,000 euros to fraudsters after a call. Police said the man was called on Friday by strangers claiming to be police officers who said a family member had caused a serious traffic accident. Accordingly, the perpetrators demanded several thousand euros from the man in order to protect the family member from imprisonment. A few hours later, the 82-year-old handed the money and jewelry to a messenger.
A spokesman for the Jena police said that such cases often involve a group of fraudsters. They called older people in a targeted manner and kept them on the phone until a courier picked up the requested money. The purpose of this practice is to distract victims long enough so that they have no opportunity to verify the story being told or to contact family members. Last weekend alone, the Jena police were notified of several such calls in the Saale-Holzland district.
