Telephone Fraud | Property Offences

By now, almost everyone is familiar with the notorious “grandchild scam”, which primarily targets elderly people. However, it is not only senior citizens who fall victim to fraudsters. Across Germany, telephone fraud causes losses of around 50 million euros annually – and the number of unreported cases is significantly higher, as many victims are too embarrassed to report having been deceived. Our qualified private investigators at Kurtz Detective Agency Erfurt and Thuringia know this from experience. If you too have been defrauded, contact our detective team in confidence: +49 361 2243 0020.

Video: Telephone Fraud Using an Interpol Pretext

Case Study: Commercial Telephone Fraud Involving Euro Lottery

Mrs Kelbra contacted our private detective agency in Erfurt one Monday afternoon and reported the following: She had been playing Euro Lottery for some time. The draw always takes place on Fridays, and on Saturday morning she received a call from a man informing her that she had won and would shortly receive written confirmation explaining the payment procedure. She checked her lottery ticket and found that she had indeed won a low four-figure sum. She was somewhat surprised to have been contacted, as she had not provided any personal details when submitting her ticket. On Monday morning she received a letter stating that she would be contacted by the “European Lottery Association” (which, in fact, does not exist), as Euro Lottery winnings were allegedly not transferred directly but first had to be moved from abroad to Germany. For this reason, certain formalities still needed to be completed.

This raised Mrs Kelbra’s suspicions, and she told a friend about the matter. The friend advised her to contact the police. The police informed her that she was not obliged to accept the winnings. Surprised by this response, she spoke again with her friend, who then suggested she contact our private investigators in Erfurt, having recently heard about our services from one of our clients.

Healthy Scepticism Initiates Investigations

Our detectives also found the case highly suspicious and invited Mrs Kelbra to a personal meeting that afternoon. When she arrived, she reported that another alleged employee of the “European Lottery Association” had called her and explained at length that the money needed to be transferred from abroad to Germany. This would incur fees amounting to 20 per cent of the winnings – partly as a tax adjustment for the foreign bank and partly for customs charges. When Mrs Kelbra suggested that the amount simply be deducted directly from the winnings, the supposed employee claimed this was not possible. The sum would have to be paid in advance into a special account allegedly established by customs authorities for such taxes and fees. The following Wednesday afternoon, a female representative would visit Mrs Kelbra to collect the money in person – naturally against a receipt. She would later be able to claim the amount back from her tax authority. Our Thuringian detectives decided to set a trap for the apparent fraudsters together with our client.

Detectives Assist Potential Victim in Exposing the Fraudsters

On Wednesday afternoon, a middle-aged woman did indeed ring Mrs Kelbra’s doorbell and presented a forged identification card identifying her as an employee of the fictitious “European Lottery Association”. Our client handed over the requested sum and received a receipt. The suspect then left the flat. One of our Erfurt private detectives followed her discreetly, while another conducted mobile surveillance from his vehicle. A few streets away, the woman approached a car in which a man was waiting. She got in and handed him the money, receiving a slip of paper in return. The vehicle drove off; our surveillance team continued to follow it. After less than a kilometre, the vehicle stopped again. The woman got out while the man remained inside. One of our investigators observed her approach another individual, only to return shortly afterwards – again handing over money to the man in the car.

At this point, our detectives had gathered sufficient evidence. During the continued surveillance, they informed a previously briefed cooperating security service. At the next stop, the investigators – accompanied by two security professionals – confronted the pair and demanded their identification. They were informed that refusal would result in provisional arrest under Section 127 of the German Code of Criminal Procedure and immediate transfer to the police. After establishing their identities, our detective agency in Erfurt handed Mrs Kelbra the complete evidence documentation. She subsequently filed criminal charges for commercial fraud and forgery. The known victims naturally recovered their property.

Assistance in Property Offences by Qualified Detectives

Whether the matter concerns telephone fraud, burglary or other property-related offences, the IHK-certified private investigators of Kurtz Detective Agency in Erfurt and Thuringia are at your side when it comes to securing court-admissible evidence, identifying perpetrators and recovering stolen property. For a non-binding enquiry, please use our contact form, call us or send an e-mail to kontakt@kurtz-detektei-erfurt.de.

Note

To protect confidentiality and the personal rights of clients and target persons, all names and locations in this case report have been altered beyond recognition.