On May 14, at around 10:50 a.m., three residents of Jelenia Góra County, aged between 69 and 86, received phone calls—one from a “police officer,” another from a “prosecutor,” and the third from a “family member.” The callers offered the elderly women help with handling formalities related to fictitious car accidents. They wanted cash: between PLN 30,000 and PLN 40,000. Fortunately, the women were not deceived.

Jelenia Góra police:

In connection with the above, we ask anyone who has any information that could help identify and apprehend the scammers to contact the Criminal Division of the Municipal Police Headquarters in Jelenia Góra:

  • in person: 22 Armii Krajowej Street, 2nd floor
  • or by phone—number 75 75 20 199.

Remember! Neither the Police nor the Prosecutor’s Office operates this way; they do not call to obtain money.

Scammers’ activity involves extorting money from elderly people who live alone. After choosing a victim, criminals call and pretend to be a family member. They can manipulate the conversation so skillfully that the victims themselves provide the necessary information, such as who they live with, where their family is, whether they have any valuables, when they are at home, the names of individual family members, and so on.

Using an altered voice, they may pretend to be, for example, a grandchild or son-in-law who is in a difficult family, financial or personal situation and asks for help. Often, when the victim finds the caller’s voice suspicious, the scammers explain it by claiming an illness or a recent medical procedure.

When the supposed grandchild is expected to come for the money, he calls to say that he cannot come for very important reasons—illness, hospitalization, travel, and so on. Instead, he will send a trusted friend. The impostor arrives, collects the cash and, of course, is never seen again. Sometimes, criminals call a second time and pretend to be police officers; they convince the potential victim that the Police can arrest the perpetrator only after the money has been handed over. They explain that they will send “police officers” in plain clothes to collect the money.

Officers:

The Police warn against such behavior. Criminals prey on people’s naivety and primarily target elderly people in this scheme. Therefore, we ask residents of our region to look after their elderly relatives and alert them to this type of behavior. Do not provide any information over the phone about your home, savings, when you are at home or whom you live with. Do not answer surveys containing similar questions. Do not hand over cash or any other items to strangers. Do not let survey takers, salespeople or other suspiciously behaving people into your home. Always call the relative back using a known number, or contact another family member to confirm the incident.

Any suspicious phone calls should be reported to the Police immediately.