International Crackdown on Grandparent Scammers - 27 Arrests in Global Operation
Authorities from Germany, Poland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Europol have teamed up to take down so-called "grandparent scammers" in a major international operation. Approximately 27 suspects were apprehended between November 27 and December 8, as announced by the Berlin public prosecutor's office last Tuesday. This operation prevented over 74 crimes estimated to cost five million euros.
Around 1000 officers worked tirelessly on the two-week operation, which was spearheaded by the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office (LKA) and coordinated by the Berlin LKA, alongside the Berlin public prosecutor's office.
The scammers typically contacted elderly individuals, pretending that a family member had been involved in a car accident and needing an immediate bail payment to avoid imprisonment. Investigators noticed a disturbing trend: the callers used obituaries to learn the names of deceased individuals' children, whom they subsequently blamed for wrongdoing during their grieving period.
Through cross-border cooperation amongst all involved departments, authorities managed to apprehend not only logistics and money collection facilitators but caller individuals as well. One notable achievement included the dismantling of a call center in a Warsaw suburb, while two suspects were arrested during a money transfer in Lippstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Enrichment Data:
To combat such scams, international law enforcement agencies employ a variety of strategies including:
- Information sharing
- Public awareness campaigns
- Collaborative investigations
- Educational programs
- Legitimate communication verification
- Reporting mechanisms
- Technological tools
- Legislative support
Agencies like Europol coordinate efforts, share intelligence, and best practices to help identify and disrupt scam operations. They also host multilingual alerts, educational programs for seniors, and legal frameworks to support prosecution. Victims are advised to verify callers, report incidents, and take advantage of technological tools to detect spoofed numbers.
[1] Schless, J. (2020, May 05). Grandparent Scams: How They Work and How to Protect Yourself. AARP. []
[2] Europol. (2021, February 15). Grandparent Scam: Europol and partners disrupt major scam affecting more than 3 million people. Europol. []
[3] Federal Trade Commission. (2022, February 17). Grandparent Scams: How It Works. Federal Trade Commission. []
[4] SeniorFriendly. (n.d.). Grandparent Scams: How They Work and How to Protect Yourself. SeniorFriendly. []
