Overview
- The LKA in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern reports total registered trick-fraud losses rose from about €4.7 million in 2024 to about €6.5 million in 2025, even as recorded cases fell to 1,166 from 1,323, with figures drawn from a provisional incoming-statistics dataset.
- Romance scams generated the highest losses, including a 66-year-old who transferred €89,000 after a relationship was fabricated online.
- In the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, callers impersonating police reported sham neighborhood break-ins and in one case pressured a 67-year-old into handing over cash and jewelry worth a low five-figure sum to an unknown collector.
- In Worpswede, Niedersachsen, an 84-year-old was driven by taxi to withdraw funds and later surrendered more than €100,000 to supposed officers after a phone contact on January 29.
- Police reiterate they never ask about assets by phone or collect valuables, urging people to hang up and call 110 to report suspicious contacts.