Despite numerous appeals and warnings from the police, elderly people continue to fall victim to fraudsters. Taking advantage of their lack of caution and trust, criminals often take away their entire life savings.

Concerned about the safety of the residents of our county, Lubin police officers once again want to draw attention to one of the most popular methods used by criminals targeting elderly people: the “grandson” scam.

On December 21, 2015, five criminal incidents occurred in Lubin. In four of them, fraudsters attempted to extort between PLN 10,000 and PLN 48,000, but the people they called, aged 71, 77 and 79, realized who they were dealing with.

Unfortunately, the fifth attempt was successful, and a man posing as a grandson received PLN 43,000 from a 76-year-old woman living in Lubin. This time, the perpetrator claimed that he urgently needed the money because he had been involved in an accident. Another person then called the victim, claiming to be a police officer confirming that the accident had occurred.

The police remind residents that the “grandson” scam usually involves a young person calling an elderly individual and pretending to be their grandson or another family member, saying: “Grandma, Grandpa, I need money.” The perpetrator usually explains the change in voice by claiming to have a cold, and justifies the request by citing an urgent, unexpected need.

Fraudsters conduct the conversation in a specific way so that the potential victim figures out and “guesses” whom they are speaking to. In this way, they manage to extort a substantial sum of money. At the end, the caller usually tells the victim that they cannot come to collect the money personally and will send a good friend to collect it. That “good friend” is most often the caller themselves.

The simplest way to verify the caller is to call the known telephone number of the family member whom the caller claims to be. Perpetrators using this method often operate in organized groups. First, they identify potential victims, most often selecting elderly people who live alone. They frequently use information found in telephone directories, looking for names that are uncommon nowadays.

In case of any suspicions—and especially if you have actually fallen victim to a fraudster—you should immediately notify the police by calling 997, because a prompt police intervention may allow the criminals to be arrested quickly. Try to remember as many details describing the perpetrator as possible, such as their appearance, the number and make of the car they may have arrived in, and, in the case of a telephone call, remember or write down the number displayed on the phone, as well as the date and time of the conversation.

Let us not lose our vigilance. We should continue talking to our parents and grandparents. Tell them about fraudsters’ methods. Warn them never to hand money to strangers or let them into their homes. We should not believe everything we hear over the phone, because fraudsters play on our emotions in order to lower our guard. For this reason, they often describe the tragic course of invented events and emphasize the need for immediate help.

KPP Lubin/ii