Saarlouis – The criminal investigators from the LPP 241 department of the Saarland State Police Headquarters are investigating a fraud case in which a 57-year-old woman from the Saarlouis district was deprived of her entire retirement savings. The perpetrators lured the victim with allegedly lucrative investment opportunities via a public trading platform that they advertised on Facebook.
The fraudsters actively contacted the woman and convinced her to transfer over 150,000 euros – her severance pay and pension provision – to accounts at home and abroad. The perpetrators posed as professional brokers who supposedly helped the woman invest her money. Particularly perfidious: Using remote access to their laptop, the fraudsters set up customer accounts with crypto service providers and redirected the money into their own money laundering network. When the woman wanted to withdraw her alleged winnings, the perpetrator demanded additional fees, which led to further payments. It was only when the winnings continued to fail that the woman became suspicious and filed a complaint.
The investigators from the LPP 241 department, who specialize in economic and property crime, are recording an alarming increase in such cases in Saarland. While there were only two cases of this type of fraud in 2018 and 2019, the numbers have increased rapidly in recent years. In 2023 alone, 125 cases were reported, and in the current year 2024 there are already over 150 cases in which victims were defrauded of a total of millions.
The advertisements have been increasing since October 2024. Within a few weeks, the police received several dozen cases that caused total damage in the seven-figure range. The police strongly warn against such scams and appeal to the population to exercise extreme caution when dealing with highly lucrative online offers. In particular, access to personal devices and the transfer of money to unknown accounts should be critically examined. Subscribe to the Blue Light Report Saarland WhatsApp channel NOW and ALWAYS stay up to date directly (click here)
