Halle/Merseburg/Kelbra (dpa/sa) - In Saxony-Anhalt, three senior citizens were deprived of tens of thousands of euros on Friday. The scammers pretended to be police officers or prosecutors and made the women believe that close relatives had caused a fatal traffic accident, the police said on Saturday. In order to avert imprisonment, a large amount of bail has to be paid immediately. "The demand was around 80,000 euros."
The injured parties allowed themselves to be put under pressure and provided information about the funds they had. According to the police in Halle, Merseburg and Kelbra, cash, jewelery and gold, each with a five-digit value, were then handed over to unknown persons.
The police have started investigations and warn of this and similar scams. "Contacting the affected relatives or other confidants yourself usually quickly unmasks the story," the police said. In order to prevent this, the called party would sometimes be kept on the line for a long time.
