Red alarm level: police warn of dangerous shock calls!

victims are often asked to pay a "deposit" or "compensation", whereby amounts of up to 100,000 euros can be requested. Often several callers act together and give each other the conversation to further obtain the trust of the victims. The callers contact a supposed family member and put the victims under temporal pressure to provoke rushed decisions. An attempt is also made to prevent contact with real relatives or the police. If the victim consent, a pick -up or the victim is published for a handover place. The perpetrators influence the victim again during this handover and end the conversation after the transfer of assets.

The BKA recommends that the callers not follow the callers' requests and, in the event of such a call, to immediately contact the locally responsible police station. Those affected should not reveal any personal or financial details on the phone and call relatives under known numbers. The police or officials never request cash or valuables by telephone. In addition, no money or valuables should be handed over to strangers and no strangers should be left into the apartment or house. For further support, those affected can also contact sacrificial advice centers such as the "Weissen Ring", available on 116 006. Further information for victims can be found on the website of police crime prevention.