An 82-year-old woman from Wetzlar was the victim of telephone fraud on Thursday.
An 82-year-old from Wetzlar is the victim of a telephone fraudster. Symbol photo: Andrey Popov / Fotolia
WETZLAR – An 82-year-old woman from Wetzlar fell victim to a so-called telephone fraudster on Thursday, November 19. According to the police, the woman received a call at 1:30 p.m. from a man who pretended to be her son. He went on to claim that he had caused a fatal traffic accident and that he is currently in police custody.
The caller passed the call on to an alleged policewoman, who explained to the elderly woman that bail would have to be deposited to ensure the son’s release. A lawyer would collect the money.
The woman got caught up in the dizziness, wanted to help, went to her bank and had all her savings paid out. At around 4.40 p.m., the 82-year-old presented the five-digit amount to a man she did not know on Linsenbergstrasse. The 82-year-old described this man to the police as follows: about 20 years old, about 1.75 meters tall, very slim. He wore a white or light gray T-shirt with no print, a black mouth and nose covering and a black poplin hat that he pulled low over his forehead.
The Wetzlar Criminal Police has started the investigation and asks witnesses who can provide information to contact the Wetzlar police on 0 64 41-91 80.
The police warned against giving details of assets or accounts on the phone and handing money over to strangers. In addition, she appeals to all citizens to speak to potential victims of fraud in their family and friends about the scam and to instruct older people exactly how they should behave in the event of such a call.
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