Elderly Bielefeld woman outsmarts scammers in near-miss fraud attempt
An 80-year-old woman in Bielefeld narrowly avoided a scam after receiving a deceptive phone call on Monday afternoon. The caller, posing as a bank employee, tried to trick her into revealing her EC card PIN before sending an accomplice to her home to collect the card. The incident began at around 1:10 p.m. when the woman answered a call from an unknown man. He falsely identified himself as a bank worker and claimed criminals were attempting to withdraw a large sum from her account. To stop the supposed fraud, he urged her to share her EC card PIN.
The victim grew suspicious and refused to comply. Instead, she ended the call and contacted her bank directly to check the story. Shortly after, a man arrived at her apartment on Magdalenenstraße, demanding her EC card. She described him as roughly 30 years old, with a southern appearance, standing between 165 and 170 cm tall. He had black hair and wore a white checkered shirt with large squares and blue jeans. The woman again refused to hand over her card, and the stranger eventually left without success. She later provided police with a detailed description of both the caller and the man who visited her home.
Police are now investigating the attempted fraud and have urged anyone with information to come forward. Witnesses can contact Criminal Investigation Division 15 in Bielefeld at 0521-545-0. The victim's quick thinking prevented any financial loss in this case.
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