Overview
- A 77-year-old in Munich’s Haidhausen district handed over 13 one‑kilogram gold bars and 30 coins worth about €2 million after a fake prosecutor claimed her daughter faced jail, and investigators are seeking witnesses near the Ostbahnhof.
- In nearby Solln, an over‑80 woman surrendered a four‑figure cash sum plus jewelry after a caller demanded a €90,000 “bail,” with police reporting an unidentified female courier collected the items.
- A taxi driver in Neu‑Isenburg prevented a planned €70,000 payout by alerting police when a passenger said she was withdrawing cash for a supposed post‑accident bail for her son, and officers are investigating attempted fraud.
- Thuringia’s Sonneberg police logged multiple new shock calls that failed when targets hung up or verified with relatives, and departments again stress they never request cash, valuables or TANs by phone.
- Authorities and watchdogs describe broader tactics including smishing that steers victims to call fake support lines, silent calls used to validate numbers and capture voice samples, frequent number rotation, and a January tally of 555,926 spam calls in Germany.