Fraudster gets 81-year-old woman to withdraw CHF 20,000

Telephone fraudsters are once again active in the canton of Zug. One of them now has problems with the judiciary.

Last Thursday, an 81-year-old woman received a call from an unknown man. The fraudster, who spoke in dialect according to a police statement, pretended to be a police officer and told the pensioner a "fictitious story that her money was no longer safe at the bank and she could help solve a crime". He asked the woman to withdraw a larger amount of money from the bank and deposit it at a Bitcoin ATM. A taxi driver would pick her up shortly and help her, the fake policeman said.

A little later, the alleged taxi driver phoned the woman and drove her to the bank. The 81-year-old was phoned several times during the whole procedure, and was put under so much pressure that she withdrew around CHF 20,000 francs and took a taxi, which was actually a private vehicle, to Steinhausen. There, she handed over the amount of money to a man who was part of the gang, whereupon he deposited the money in a Bitcoin ATM. He then drove the pensioner back home.

Scammer sends real taxi the second time
Probably because he had been successful the first time, the fraudster wanted to rip off the woman again: just one day later, the same perpetrator called to the pensioner again, according to the police. Unlike the day before, however, a real taxi driver appeared and drove the woman to the bank. There, however, the police were waiting for them, and another money transfer could be prevented.

A telephone fraudster converted the money of a woman from Zug into Bitcoins    Photo: Kin Cheung / AP

According to the woman taxi driver, she was contacted by phone by the alleged ‘nephew’ of the 81-year-old. In several calls, this "nephew" told the taxi driver details about the life of the pensioner, and that she should urgently pick up this money and pay it in again. The taxi driver thereby accepted the job. This is a new approach by telephone fraudsters.

Another phone fraudster arrested by police
After a short break at the weekend, a second group of perpetrators also became active on Monday morning. An 81-year-old man's phone rang with a fake policeman on the other end of the line. The fraudster put the man under so much pressure that he was willing to withdraw CHF 30,000 from the bank and hand it over to a man unknown to him. At this handover, however, the "money collector" was met by the real police, and was arrested. He is a 30-year-old German national. Further investigations are now ongoing. According to the investigations so far, the two cases are not the same perpetrators.

Beware of phone fraudsters – protect yourself with these tips from the police

• Be suspicious if a police officer asks you on the phone to withdraw an amount of money, to hand it over to a stranger or to deposit it in a Bitcoin ATM.
• Be suspicious if a police officer tells you a story on the phone that your money is no longer safe in the bank.
• Do not let yourself be pressured, and end the phone call immediately.
• Telephone fraudsters very often select their victims from the public phone book. They are specifically looking for people with traditional first names, as this could provide an indication of their age. Protect yourself by only listing the first letter of your first name. Change your phone book entry directly online.
• Take warnings from bank employees seriously, and allow them to call the police if you have the slightest doubt.
• In case of doubt, you should always contact the police at an early stage (using the emergency number 117) to clarify any uncertainties.