Clan crime in North Rhine-Westphalia has risen sharply. Favourite victims are senior citizens. A particularly nasty ploy: the elderly are deliberately involved in accidents and ripped off.
Recently, the Oberhausen police had again warned against fraudsters who fake or provoke traffic accidents because of a presumably fake accident on the street Konrad-Adenauer-Allee. “We use the term fake accident when the parties involved in the accident cooperate and want to cheat the insurance company,” said Axel Deitermann, Oberhausen police spokesman. “In a provoked accident, on the other hand, an uninvolved car is picked out and driven into.
In Essen for example, clan members have deliberately caused around 50 traffic accidents, resulting in six-figure damages. The procedure is almost always the same. A typical case has now occurred again in a neighbouring city. The scene of the crime is usually a large, unclear car park, preferably with only one access road. “This reduces the risk of witnesses and keeps a close eye on who might be a suitable victim,” explains a special investigator from Essen. These are almost always senior citizens travelling alone in their cars.In this case, an 83-year-old female car driver had simply driven to the car park of the DIY store to pick up some bread rolls in the bakery attached to it.In this case, an 83-year-old female car driver had simply driven to the car park of the DIY store to pick up some bread rolls in the bakery attached to it. She had parked in front of the store, but there were no cars to her left or right, she later explained. After the shopping she got into her car, drove a little backwards and then it happened.”I felt a slight jolt.” Out of nowhere, this dark middle-class car had suddenly appeared behind her. She got out and the two occupants of the other car pointed at a dented door. “But they also asked if anything had happened to me and reassured me, it wouldn’t be so bad.” They had been really nice.They mentioned in a more casual way that older people would quickly get into trouble with their insurance company in case of an accident. Although the 83-year-old has been accident-free for 20 years, she was suddenly scared. “That in the worst case, the insurance company would cancel my insurance because of the accident and because of my age.” Or that downgrading to a worse tariff could cost a lot of money. “But these are exactly the concerns that the perpetrators are deliberately stirring up,” says the police investigator.They cleverly used the state of shock to offer the alleged accident victim the alleged solution immediately afterwards. “I should pay 1300 euros”, says the senior citizen. The two men also wanted to accompany her to the bank. “The car looked expensive, the two were well dressed, I didn’t suspect a thing. But as she didn’t have her bank card with her, she made an appointment for the next morning.Right after the old lady was at the bank the next day, the perpetrators showed up at her front door. “This suggests that she was being watched,” the police investigator is certain. The perpetrator willingly signed a letter that he would not make any further claims. He even left his mobile phone number. The deceived person only became suspicious when he called again later and asked for a copy of the car registration document “for company records”.Finally, the victim confided in family members. They immediately called the police. It was soon clear: the name written in the letter was wrong, the address, of course, was also wrong, the mobile phone number did not exist and the number plate had never been issued in Germany. The police said: “If the woman had handed over a copy of the car registration document, the car would probably have been stolen from her too.