Organized crime: International fight against grandchildren’s trough fraudsters

The large -scale fraud of old people with shock calls and the so -called grandchildren is expanding in Europe – and the German police are networking more and more international in the fight against the perpetrators. From Wednesday to Friday at the invitation of the Berlin State Criminal Police Office (LKA), prosecutors and criminal police officers from the 16 federal states, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and from Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Great Britain and Serbia.

The conference in Teltow (Brandenburg) is part of the ISF Lumen (Latin: light) project funded by the EU against the cross -border organized crime.

What is the so -called grandson trick or shock call?

With this fraud mesh, which has been known for many years, the perpetrators are on the phone as relatives, police officers or lawyers. By false stories, they try to persuade older people to pay money. The perpetrators often tell of accidents that are involved in relatives and require tens of thousands of euros for deposits. They pretend to be police officers to bring money from the apartment to safety. Chat messages are sent to contact victims.

How many acts are there?

According to the BKA’s crime statics, 6,656 such cases were reported in Germany last year. 1,527 of this were informed. The police determined almost 1,100 suspects. In addition, there were 3,904 cases of false police officers and almost 1,600 cases of other false officials. The damage is in the multi -digit million range. Experts also assume an unreported number because some victims do not go to the police.

Who are the victims?

The perpetrators mostly target older people. Using the previously popular first names, search for phone numbers from telephone books. The victims often lose a lot of money that has been laboriously saved. There are also mental damage and feelings of shame because they fell for such fraudsters.

There are many tragic examples of cheated old people. In February, the police said in Potsdam that a fraudster brought a senior citizen to money and valuables worth 220,000 euros. The woman’s perpetrators pretended the woman on the phone that her son had caused a fatal accident and needed a deposit. In Halle (Saale) criminals captured 230,000 euros from an 88-year-old. In Bavaria, a bank employee prevented a customer from taking a five-digit sum and handed over to telephone fraudsters.

Who are the perpetrators?

According to the police, the perpetrators are predominantly organized family structures, originally often from Eastern Europe. They often act from abroad. In the countries in which victims live, other perpetrators are deployed that can be handed over to cash or jewelry.

«The perpetrators’ driving force are money, power and luxury: expensive fashion, jewelry, limousines and sports cars, travel to luxury hotels. This is important and must be financed, »says chief criminal commissioner Sebastian Hölich from the Berlin LKA of the dpa. «The successes make the groups larger. There are a lot of offspring, the families are kingdomed. This is a form of crime that is passed on and in which young family members are already included. »

Hölich describes the procedure all day. If 30 calls are made, the 31st call will be a conversation. « We already had people who have been the victim of such a grandchildren’s trick fraud three times. »

Why do the perpetrators work more and more international?

According to Hölich, the networks of criminals are being investigated across Europe. «About 25 countries are now affected. Because the police have grown to the persecution, the perpetrators are expanding. »

Due to the good cooperation with the police in Poland, which has been running for seven years, many gangs had been smashed. «Now there are also acts in Hungary, in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, also in Great Britain, the Netherlands and Italy. The perpetrators are well networked, so we also have to network well. You can only fight them in the international network. »

What is the goal of the current conference of the police authorities?

The affected states would have to develop common strategies to combat criminals, said Hölich. « There are different legal systems and we have to adjust our procedure together. » The political will to combat this crime is not the same in all countries. The predominantly older victims did not have a big lobby everywhere. « But a lot is happening and I’m very optimistic. »

How does the police act nationally and internationally?

In Germany, cooperation among the federal states is now working very well, which would show large cross -border missions with surveillance and arrests. At the end of 2024, for example, under the leadership of the State Criminal Police Office in Baden-Württemberg, police authorities from eight countries and from Europol against grandchildren.

The police stopped communicating the alleged fraudsters for weeks and lifted three call centers in Poland. 20 suspects were arrested. Nationwide, almost 400 grandchildren and damage of five million euros were prevented, it said.

How is the situation in Berlin?

«We now have great success and a massive decline in the deeds. In 2024 it was 50 percent less than in the previous year. There were again significantly fewer cases in the current year, »said Hölich. «We smashed some call centers. We notice this significantly from the number of cases. You have to keep up the persecution pressure. If you subside, the number of cases go up again. The perpetrators get that immediately. »