Police summarize trick thieves: Seniors in the sights of the crooks!

Police summarize trick thieves: Seniors in the sights of the crooks!

Köln-Nippes, Deutschland - in Cologne-Nippes was stopped on Wednesday, July 2, a suspected trick thief duo. The two men aged 27 and 44 noticed civil police officers when they entered an apartment building. When they arrived with a rental car, they left the building with cash, gold jewelry and a fake identification of an alleged "customer advisor" a little later. The suspects had pretended to be a telecom employee in order to gain access to the apartment of a 91-year-old senior citizen and to rob her. However, the officials were on hand in good time to arrest the men after trying a similar stitch with a pair of senior citizens (76 and 83 years old) about an hour earlier. Fortunately, the host had noticed the dizziness before the perpetrators could strike and the duo fled.

The criminal police have now started the investigation and checks whether the two men could possibly be responsible for other similar acts. The incidents in Cologne are alarming, because in 2024 around 1,200 crimes against older people were registered in the city and in Leverkusen, which caused considerable economic damage that amounts to the millions. The resulting feelings of shame and distrust increase the psychological vulnerability of the victims, which makes the Situation even more dangerous.

prevention for seniors

to give older people a voice and to help them remain safe in our increasingly complicated world, the senior theater group Chorweiler organized a special performance directed by Matthias van den Berg. This event deals with the topic of trick theft and shows how quickly and sudden people in this age group can become victims of crimes. With six appearances in the spring months 2023 in various civil centers and houses, the group was able to pull around 500 visitors.

In the interactive scenes, the seven actresses between 60 and 80 years demonstrate current tricks from fraudsters. The performance ends with a discussion round in which the participants can talk to the team of the Cologne police prevention team in order to get valuable tips and strategies on how they can better protect themselves and their relatives.

Enlightenment by information

The Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth also has the brochure "Rate who is on?" published. It shows the methods with which criminals try to deceive seniors with lies and tricks to get their assets. This information is available to all interested parties and serve as valuable support in the fight against this type of crime.

Overall, it is very important that seniors and their relatives remain vigilant. The perpetrators' procedures are diverse: they pretend to be relatives on the phone or pretend to have craftsmen on the front door. They often put the victims under massive pressure or offer supposedly “very good business” to elicit the money. It is therefore not to be said: everyone should keep their eyes open and be aware of the risks.

For more information on this topic, interested parties can be found on Rheinische-ad-blaetter , Stadt-Koeln and BMFSFJ Visit