Mannheim (dpa / lsw) - A senior citizen from Mannheim has fallen victim to a so-called shock call. Because she believed her daughter was involved in a fatal traffic accident, the woman gave the scammer items worth 200,000 euros, the police said on Wednesday.
The scammer pretended to be a police officer on the phone and led the elderly woman into believing that her daughter had caused an accident in which two people, including a child, had died. The caller claimed bail of €160,000 was required to avoid jail time.
The senior believed so after being unable to reach her daughter. On Tuesday, she packed up all her jewelry, valuable heirlooms and coins with a total value of 200,000 euros and handed them over to a stranger in front of her apartment four hours after the call.
When the daughter called a little later, the fraud was discovered. The police are now looking for the perpetrator and warn of scams on the phone.
