Fraud victim tells:

“Slept armed with a frying pan!”

The fake police officers probably thought that the 74-year-old Styrian woman was easy prey. Because of her advanced age and her first name, which has gone a bit out of fashion. But in the end, no money flowed, instead the handcuffs clicked. 

It was a cold, cloudy day in December of the previous year when Ms. Hannelore's landline phone rang. "The caller claimed to be police inspector Alexander Precher," she explains in an interview with the Steirerkrone. There had been a robbery at a doctor's surgery nearby. One Bulgarian was in custody, a second was armed and on the run. "A robbery was also planned against me because they had my bank details."

They assured me with conviction that the money would be much better off with the police.

Die 74-Jährige war beeindruckt von den Überedungskünsten der Gauner

Had the ATM been tampered with?
As luck would have it, the 74-year-old had had problems with a bank transfer a few days earlier. "I thought maybe the ATM had been tampered with and that's how they got my details."

The fake police officer, who was supported by a supposed psychologist during the phone call, advised the Styrian woman that she should get her money from the bank and hand it over to the police. And that she should be careful in case the armed perpetrator does rob her.

I can only advise everyone to be suspicious, especially if a police officer calls and tells them not to call the police.

Die resolute Steirerin im „Krone“-Gespräch

"Slept with a frying pan"
"I went to bed with a frying pan," laughs the senior citizen. "I put a glass bottle by the door so I could hear straight away if someone broke in. And I secured the window with a flower pot." She slept well. "I was a nurse for 44 years. Nothing upsets me so quickly."

"So I thought to myself, that's enough!"
But when her brother found out that no robbery had actually taken place, the 74-year-old was beside herself. "That was enough for me!" She went to the police and, working as a team, two fake police officers were caught during the fake money transfer. The duo were sentenced to several years in prison the previous week.