In August, a man called a 70-year-old resident of Bolesławiec and introduced himself as an officer of the Central Police Investigation Bureau. The fake police officer informed the senior that her money was at risk and that she had to transfer all her savings to an account he indicated, while handing over the cash kept at home to a person who would come to collect it. Sub-Commissioner Wojciech Jabłoński of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław:
The information provided by the alleged officer was confirmed during another call, this time with a fictitious prosecutor.
How do fraudsters operate?
Police officers:
To prevent the victim from contacting other people, the criminals told her not to hang up, allowing them to hear everything happening around the 70-year-old, including her conversation at the bank about transferring a large sum of money.
When the senior left the bank, believing that she had protected her life savings in this way, she also handed over part of her savings in cash to a woman who approached her at the agreed location.
Provincial Police Headquarters:
Actions by officers from the Criminal Division of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław and officers from the headquarters in Bolesławiec and Legnica led to the arrest of a 23-year-old resident of Legnica who collected the money from the senior just several dozen minutes after the crime was committed. The officers also recovered the cash lost by the 70-year-old.
Later, officers also arrested a 40-year-old man from Mazovia. What is more, the officers blocked the criminals’ ability to take over a significant portion of the victim’s money. A total of PLN 250,000 was recovered.
The two fraudsters were remanded in custody for three months. Izabela K. faces between one and ten years in prison. Paweł G., a 40-year-old resident of Mława and a repeat offender who had previously been convicted of robbery, could face up to 15 years behind bars.
Bolesławiec District Police Headquarters:
It is worth noting that on the same day, there were two other attempted frauds using the “police officer” method in Bolesławiec County. However, in those cases, the potential victims remained alert during the phone calls, realizing that they were speaking with fake officers, and ended the conversations.