Session room 136, district court of Traunstein. “You don’t have to be afraid,” says judge Heike Will to the lady, who is testifying as a witness for the first time in her 85 years. She couldn’t sleep all night because she was so excited, says the victim. On May 18, 2021, Anneliese F. fell victim to a shock phone call. The fraudster pretended to be “Frau Burghart from the police” and told her the classic grandchild trick lie: F’s daughter-in-law had had a serious accident, she had to advance the insurance costs, otherwise her son would go to jail. In shock, Anneliese F. goes to the bank, scrapes 46,000 euros from several accounts and hands over her savings to an unknown collector. Everything as “Ms. Burghart” orders her on the phone. According to the prosecution, the collector of the money is now in court in Traunstein. The gang, of which she is a part, cheated their often elderly victims out of almost 600,000 euros.
“The perpetrators rely on the moment of shock, want to disable the victim’s mind and thereby tempt him to act rashly,” says the indictment. Due to the emotional pressure, the injured parties hand over their entire savings – a process as banal as if it were a letter at the post office. An 89-year-old from Würzburg lost 280,000 euros in cash and gold bars worth 25,000 euros this year.
In Augsburg, for example, elementary school students should raise awareness among their grandparents
The grandchild trick is now so widespread that the scam needs no explanation and no longer works – one might think. But phone fraud is booming. The police registered 4,168 of these calls, which fall under criminal law under “call center fraud”, nationwide in 2021. In Lower Franconia, the criminals stole 1.4 million euros. In northern Swabia there were 1,084 attempted telephone fraud cases last year, in which 434,000 euros were stolen. “In 2022, it was already foreseeable by the middle of the year that the level of damage from the previous year would not only be reached, but significantly increased,” says police spokesman Markus Trieb from the Swabian North Presidium.
The police have now become creative in order to enlighten the target group. Who breaks through to the grandparent generation most easily? Just the grandchildren. In May, the Swabia North Presidium launched the campaign “Not with my grandma – not with my grandpa”, or #NMMO for short. Mayoress Eva Weber, FC Augsburg and the Augsburger Puppenkiste were involved in educational videos. Since May, the police have been giving fourth-graders tips and flyers to raise awareness among grandparents. According to spokesman Trieb, 35,000 flyers have already been requested from schools in northern Swabia. The clues are omnipresent in Augsburg: #NMMO runs on the screens in the tram, is printed on bakery bags and as advertising in the zoo, even theater groups stage the scam. “Be suspicious! Don’t give out any personal information on the phone! Never give money to strangers!” These are the tips, as well as calling the relatives and the police if you have the slightest suspicion.
“One is always confronted with the grandchild trick. That it happens to me of all people,” says Edit-Annemarie H., also injured in the current trial in Traunstein. She was led to believe that her daughter had caused a serious accident and that she now had to pay for her bail. The daughter’s loud sobbing was staged in the background. With the campaign “Hang up!” the presidencies of Lower Franconia and Swabia North want to shake senior citizens out of the shock of such calls. Stickers are distributed that older fellow citizens stick on their landline handsets. In Augsburg, #NMMO tips are also printed on bank envelopes. But is it really the best advice to hang up immediately? “It’s a double-edged sword,” says Maximilian Basser, police spokesman for Lower Franconia. “For us, the idea of protecting the called party and their money in any case prevails. It’s safest to hang up.” According to Basser, those who are so clever that they see through the scammers’ game and play along in order to dial 110 at the same time are not the target group of the campaign.
“Now I have to cut back on everything,” says the bruised senior citizen in court
On May 18, 2021, Gertrud H. handed over 23,000 euros to an unknown person. “I’ve been saving on this money for as long as I can remember, I’ve never treated myself to anything in my life. I couldn’t buy any more bread that day because I gave them every last cent,” she says in Traunstein. Anneliese F. also blames herself for letting herself be deceived. “I only have my son. They took advantage of that. Now I have to cut back on everything.” The hole in the wallet is one thing. But the psychological shock is still in the bones of all three women who auditioned in Traunstein last Monday. Anneliese F. says she thinks back to the horror scenario every day. Since then, Gertrud H. has been complaining of inner restlessness, severe itching and furry hands. H. was even cheated for the second time with the grandchild trick. At that time, her son was just able to prevent her from transferring money to a supposed nephew. “We have now turned off her landline phone and set up a cell phone,” says her daughter-in-law after the trial.
The success of the prevention campaigns is difficult to measure, but there are already some successes. In the Augsburg area, a woman had already withdrawn money from the bank this year on the phone on the instructions of a scammer. On the way home she read the #NMMO tips on the envelope. She did not hand over the envelope with 30,000 euros to criminals, but instead called the police. As a rule, those who pull the strings on these networks do not have to look their victims in the eye. They often call from abroad and delegate drivers to accept the packets of money. Even with the defendant in the trial in Traunstein, only a small fish was caught. “Hopefully you have to suffer from this mistake for a long time,” says Anneliese F. to the accused and pushes her walker towards the exit of meeting room 136.