On October 9, the duty officer at the Municipal Police Headquarters in Legnica received nearly 15 reports of attempts to extort money from elderly people.

Fortunately, none of the seniors believed the fake police officers. Encouragingly, the elderly people mentioned above immediately called the Legnica police headquarters after the suspicious phone call to report the attempted crime. (More and more people are aware of how scammers operate and are not being fooled.)

Scammers are ruthless; they skillfully manipulate the conversation to obtain as much information as possible about how much money elderly people have—both at home and in their bank accounts.

How do scammers operate?

The fake officer often gives a made-up name and department where they supposedly work. They ask the person they are speaking with not to end the call and to dial 997 on the phone keypad.

Another voice on the line then confirms the information provided by the scammer. They continue to convince the victim that they are taking part in an operation to catch a scammer.

The perpetrators put pressure on their victims. They do not give them a moment to think or verify information about the caller.

They convince elderly people that their money will help catch criminals. They claim that the money in their bank account is at risk or that the banknotes kept at home are counterfeit.

What is more, criminals pretending to be police officers often threaten legal consequences if the person they are speaking with refuses to cooperate.

How can you avoid falling victim to a scam?

Above all, remain cautious—if someone calls claiming to be a member of our family and asks for money, do not take any hasty action. Do not tell anyone over the phone how much money you have at home or in your bank account. Do not withdraw all your savings from the bank!

Call someone in your family; ask whether the person who requested your help really needs it.

Remember that no one will hold it against you for acting sensibly. Do not give in to pressure from scammers!

Above all, remember that police officers NEVER provide information about their cases over the phone! They also NEVER ask you to hand money over to an unknown person.

If someone tries to scam you by pretending to be a police officer over the phone, end the call! Do not engage in conversation with the scammer.

The police also appeal to young people:

Tell your parents and grandparents that there are people who may try to take advantage of their kindness. Tell them how to behave if someone calls asking to borrow a large amount of money.

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