Several cases in Aargau Police issue an "urgent" warning about these telephone scams
Telephone fraudsters pretending to be police officers are still active. In recent weeks, criminals in the canton of Aargau have stolen several thousand francs. The cantonal police warn against the scam.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- In the canton of Aargau, two women fell victim to a scam in which a perpetrator posed as a policewoman and pressured them to deposit several thousand francs as an alleged "trap".
- According to the police, the fraudsters often operate from abroad and use various tall tales to extract large sums of money under massive pressure.
- The police warn against such calls, strongly advise against handing over cash and recommend raising awareness in your personal environment, especially among older people.
Under the pretext that criminals were on their trail, an alleged policewoman contacted two women by telephone. She explained that the criminals could be caught if they withdrew cash and laid it out as a "trap".
Under psychological pressure, the women followed the instructions and deposited several thousand francs each, one under a car, the other threw the money out of the window at a location indicated by the perpetrators.
These two incidents occurred in quick succession over the last few days at different locations in the canton of Aargau, as the cantonal police wrote in a press release. "They are examples of numerous other cases of this type of fraud," it continues.
From fake burglars to accidents
The criminal gangs, who mostly operate from abroad, use various stories: alleged burglars in the neighborhood, a serious accident involving a close relative or suspicious movements in the bank account. According to the Aargau cantonal police, they all have one thing in common: "The fraudsters use sophisticated lies and massive pressure to obtain large sums of money and are unfortunately always successful."
"The Aargau cantonal police urgently warn against this scam." It advises people never to respond to the demands of such callers and never to hand over cash to strangers or leave it in public places.
The police also recommend talking to relatives, friends and especially older people about this type of scam. Education is the best protection in order to react correctly in an emergency.