(jd) Unknown perpetrators were successful with the "fake police" scam last weekend with a senior citizen in Herford. The man received a call at around 1.30 pm on Monday (3 March) from a person he did not know, who claimed to be a police officer. The alleged police officer gave information about burglaries in the neighborhood and the associated possibility that the senior citizen could also become a victim of a burglary. In the course of the conversation, the stranger asked whether the senior citizen kept any cash or other valuables in his home. As the man from Herford answered in the affirmative, the alleged police officer advised him to hand over the cash to the police for safekeeping. The man from Herford then followed the police officer's instructions and deposited the five-figure sum of cash in an envelope outside his front door, where it was collected at around 4.00 pm. It was only later that the fraud was discovered and the man from Herford reported it to the police. The criminal investigation department has taken over the investigation.
In this context, the Herford police once again strongly advise people to urgently:
- Do not give unknown persons any information about your financial circumstances or other sensitive data.
- Do not open the door to unknown persons.
- Always consult a trusted person.
- Never hand over money or valuables to unknown persons, alleged police persons, alleged employees of the police, public prosecutor's office, courts or financial institutions.
- If you have been the victim of such a call, always contact the police contact the police in any case and file a complaint.