Telephone fraudsters stole around 24 million euros in Bavaria last year. “Initial evaluations for 2023 show a further increase in the number of cases in these areas of crime in Bavaria,” said Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) on Thursday in Munich. “The trend is likely to be comparable nationwide.”
According to the figures from the State Criminal Police Office (LKA), shock calls and grandchild trick cases in particular have increased significantly. The number of cases in this area grew from more than 3,000 in 2020 to more than 13,500 last year. At the same time, the loot would have increased from almost two million to more than 13.5 million euros.
As the State Criminal Police Office also announced, older people are particularly at risk of becoming victims of fraud. People often lose large parts of their savings, said Herrmann.
The police authorities in Bavaria and Saxony want to draw attention to fraudsters’ methods with a joint prevention campaign from March 4th to 8th. According to the LKA, fraudsters often pose as police officers or relatives who need money in an emergency situation. The perpetrators took advantage of the victims’ surprise and put them under time and decision-making pressure. The investigators therefore advised, among other things, not to let callers put you under pressure and to hang up as soon as the person you are talking to demands money.