Fraudsters in Potsdam: 33,000 euros stolen – police are looking for witnesses!

Fraudsters in Potsdam: 33,000 euros stolen – police are looking for witnesses!

In an impressive fraud case in the Eiche district of Potsdam, a fraud worth 33,000 euros caused a stir. Two men pretended to be company employees and stopped by a book collector's home. On February 3rd, at 6 p.m., they offered the injured party to sell his valuable book collection for an impressive 174,800 euros. This initially sounded like a really good deal to the collector, so he didn't hesitate and signed a so-called brokerage agreement maz-online.de reported.

But appearances were deceptive. The fraudsters informed the collector that he would receive 35,000 euros transferred to his bank account, which further encouraged him to fulfill the requirements for the deal. The injured party transferred the required security deposit of 33,000 euros to the company's account. When he later realized that he had unknowingly signed a loan application for 35,000 euros instead of a brokerage agreement, it dawned on him that something was very wrong. In any case, the big sale of the books never took place, and his money was also gone, with no prospect of being paid back. The police are now looking for the perpetrators and have created a ghost image of one of the suspects. The man is described as being around 28 to 35 years old, around 1.80 meters tall, with black hair and brown eyes, a slim to thin figure and a southern European appearance.

Fraud category

This incident joins an alarming series of fraud cases, highlighted by rising online fraud rates. According to a survey, only 51% of respondents believe they are well informed about online scams. What is particularly worrying is that 26% of people over 50 feel ill-informed. In this context, the need for age-appropriate educational campaigns is becoming increasingly clear, as a representative of pwc.de emphasizes.

Phishing remains the most common form of fraud at 75%, followed by identity theft and credit card fraud. But more aggressive variants such as vishing, in which telephone calls are used to deceive, are also on the rise. It seems as if the methods are becoming more and more sophisticated and the fraudsters are particularly targeting helpless and gullible people. It is therefore even more important to find out about current fraud methods.

Call for help

The police are now urgently looking for information about the identity and whereabouts of the perpetrators. Anyone who knows anything or has seen the men can contact the Potsdam police station on 03381 5508 0. Any information may help stop these scammers and prevent similar acts in the future.

It is important for the community to stand together and warn each other to be more vigilant in dealing with such cases. as tagesspiegel.de also turns out. Be careful and don't be blinded by tempting offers!