Grandchild trick fraudster arrested in Rhauderfehn – 89-year-old cheated out of 39,000 euros!

Grandchild trick fraudster arrested in Rhauderfehn – 89-year-old cheated out of 39,000 euros!

In Rhauderfehn, an 89-year-old woman fell victim to an unscrupulous fraud through the so-called grandchild scam on June 4th. The perpetrators posed as police officers, prosecutors and judges and claimed that the elderly woman's son had caused a fatal traffic accident. This prompted the woman to hand over €39,000 to a person dressed as a collector at her front door. The shock call turned out to be part of a complex fraud scheme that is becoming increasingly widespread in Germany and beyond, as Tixio reports.

A relative of the woman concerned noticed another attempt by the criminals to pick her up and successfully alerted the police. An attentive witness also noted the license plate number of the getaway car, which led to the arrest of two suspects: a 20-year-old Polish woman and a 57-year-old Pole. When the vehicle was searched, the stolen money was recovered. The Leer district court has now issued arrest warrants against the perpetrators, while the Osnabrück public prosecutor's office is continuing the investigation. Those who collect such fraudulent profits must expect long prison sentences.

Growing problem of grandchild trickery

The incident in Rhauderfehn is not alone. The scam methods using shock calls and the grandchild trick are spreading in Europe to alarming proportions. The German police have networked internationally to take action against the perpetrators. A conference that took place from Wednesday to Friday in Teltow (Brandenburg) and was organized by the Berlin State Criminal Police Office brought together prosecutors and criminal police from 16 federal states, as well as experts from Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Great Britain and Serbia.

This meeting is part of the EU-funded ISF Lumen project, dedicated to the fight against transnational organized crime. The perpetrators usually pose as relatives, police officers or lawyers in order to get older people to pay money. In 2022, 6,656 cases of fraud were reported in Germany, of which 1,527 were solved. However, the number of unreported cases is high and the total damage amounts to several million euros.

The individual fates are particularly tragic: a senior citizen in Potsdam was deprived of 220,000 euros and an 88-year-old in Halle was deprived of 230,000 euros. The perpetrators are often part of organized family structures from Eastern Europe, which usually operate from abroad. Motivated by money, power and luxury, this crime is regularly passed on within families.

Successes in international struggle

International police cooperation is showing success; in particular, the good cooperation with the police in Poland has led to the dismantling of several fraud gangs. The aim of the conference was to develop common strategies to combat such types of fraud. There have been significant declines in these crimes in Berlin: 50% fewer cases were registered in 2024 compared to the previous year, as the Nordkurier informs.