The police have long warned against “grandchild” scams. Preventive campaigns are producing results. Officers are receiving more and more reports from older people who remained vigilant and did not allow themselves to be robbed.

However, the number of reports concerning the new method of theft—pretending to be a police officer—is alarming. The uniformed officers therefore appeal for caution!

More and more people are aware of how fraudsters operate and how not to become their victims. However, criminals are not falling behind and are modifying their methods. Recently, a method frequently used by them has been theft by pretending to be a police officer. The perpetrators exploit society’s trust in police officers and extort money from older people.
They are ruthless—they skillfully manipulate the conversation in order to obtain as much information as possible and take advantage of older people.

How do the perpetrators operate?

The perpetrators’ method is similar. First, they make a phone call, pretending to be a family member, most often a grandchild. They explain the changed voice by claiming to be ill or make the older person feel guilty for not recognizing them. Then they ask to borrow a large sum of money.

Usually, the money is supposedly needed to cover damages following a road accident, pay for an important operation, buy a car, or take advantage of a holiday at a promotional price.

Shortly after the first conversation ends, another call is made to the victim—this time from someone pretending to be an officer of the CBŚ or the police. Generally, the criminal informs the caller that they are a potential fraud victim. They say that the previous phone call was an attempt to extort money. They claim that the fraudster has been located. They insist that the victim withdraw a specified sum of money from the bank and hand it over to a designated person, or ask them to make a bank transfer to the indicated account number.

The “fake officer” often gives a made-up surname and even a badge number; they ask the victim not to end the phone call and to dial the police number. Then another voice on the line convinces the victim that they are taking part in an operation to catch the fraudster.

Fraudsters put their victims under time pressure. They do not give them a moment either to think or to verify information about the caller. They convince older people that their money will help catch the criminals. They say that cash kept in a bank account is not safe and that the fraudster has easy access to it. By pretending to be officers, the criminals threaten legal consequences if the person they are speaking to does not cooperate.

Immediately after the money is handed over, contact is cut off and the criminals disappear with all of the victim’s savings.

How can you avoid becoming a victim of fraudsters?

Above all, remain cautious—if someone calls us pretending to be a family member and asks for money, we should not take any hasty action. Do not tell anyone over the phone how much money we have at home or keep in our account. Do not withdraw all our savings from the bank.

Let us call a family member and ask whether the person who requested our help really needs it. Remember that no one will blame us for acting sensibly. Do not give in to the time pressure exerted by fraudsters.

In particular, remember that police officers NEVER provide information about their investigations over the phone! They also never ask anyone to hand money over to an unknown person.

If someone tries to deceive us over the phone by pretending to be a police officer, end the call! Do not engage in conversation with the fraudster. If we do not know how to react, tell someone close to us about the suspicious call.

The statistics are alarming: since 2006, the number of scams committed using the “grandchild” method has been steadily increasing. In 2013, there were 1,264 scams carried out using this method, and the total losses suffered by the victims exceeded PLN 11 million.

In the first half of 2014 alone, 762 “grandchild” crimes had already been recorded, and the total losses suffered by the victims amounted to PLN 6 million. This is not the full picture of the problem. Some victims are ashamed to admit that they fell prey to fraudsters and did not report the crime.

The perpetrators of these extortion schemes operate as part of organized criminal groups. They create extensive structures in which each person has a specific role. Detecting the perpetrators of this type of fraud is difficult for several reasons.

First, these are international groups. Their members make calls from abroad and change telephone numbers and SIM cards, making them difficult to locate. They select older, lonely people as victims. They may choose them based on a telephone directory list. The people who meet the victims to collect the money are often unaware of their role in the criminal operation.

Another problem is that victims are often unable to recall the details provided by the fraudsters. They cannot remember what the perpetrators looked like and are unable to recognize them by their voices.

Police officers arrest more people involved in these scams, but as soon as one fraud group is dismantled, others appear. It is therefore all the more important that as many people as possible, especially older people, understand how criminals operate and how to protect themselves from theft.

The officers appeal especially to young people—let us inform our parents and grandparents that there are people who may want to take advantage of their kindness. Let us tell them how to behave if someone calls asking to borrow a large amount of money. Let us draw the attention of older people we know who live alone to the threat.

Ordinary caution can protect them from losing savings accumulated over many years.

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