- Event: Massive accumulation of fraudulent phone calls
- Perpetrator Profile: Alleged police officers and fake bank employees
- Crime Scene: Hermsdorf and adjacent Ostthüringen
- Amount of Damage: Around 250,000 euros in four successful crimes in the region
- Target Group: Predominantly elderly citizens
Hermsdorf/Jena, February 24, 2026. A wave of organized and highly professionally executed phone scams is currently rolling across Ostthüringen. The perpetrators act ruthlessly on the phone and specifically target the savings of seniors. The police urgently warn against giving in to sensitive demands on the phone, following an increase in corresponding reports filed in recent weeks.
What happened in Hermsdorf?
As the police reported, another specific incident occurred on Monday afternoon in Hermsdorf in the Saale-Holzland-Kreis. A resident received a call from a man posing as a police officer. Under the pretext of having to protect valuables from allegedly imminent burglaries, the perpetrator demanded the handover of cash and valuables.
In parallel, authorities are recording an increase in calls from fake bank employees. These use various, often technical-sounding excuses to gain access to their victims’ money. Common claims include that the victim’s account is blocked and must be “tested” via a real-time transfer. Alternatively, victims are told they have received counterfeit money, which must now be picked up by a courier. When these crimes succeed, the financial consequences for the victims are catastrophic: four successful shock calls in the recent past alone resulted in a total loss of around 250,000 euros in the region.
Classification & Background of the Fraud Scheme
The phenomenon of “fake police officers” or “shock calls” is a nationwide problem originating in organized call centers – often located abroad. The perpetrators frequently use a technique called “Call-ID Spoofing.” This causes a familiar number to appear on the recipient’s phone display, such as 110 or the number of the local bank. This is intended to build trust and nip any doubts about the caller’s authenticity in the bud.
Ostthüringen and the greater area around Jena and the Hermsdorfer Kreuz repeatedly fall into the focus of such networks. The scammers take advantage of the good transport links to quickly bring so-called “collectors” – accomplices who receive the money directly at the seniors’ front doors – into the region and back out again.
Guide: How to Protect Yourself and Your Relatives
To protect against such financial disasters, criminal experts advise strict rules of conduct:
- Mistrust is mandatory: The real police will never ask you for sums of money over the phone or demand that you hand over valuables for “safekeeping.”
- No account tests: Banks never request their customers to make transfers, real-time transactions, or disclose PIN and TAN numbers over the phone.
- Hang up: End the conversation immediately as soon as money is mentioned. Do not get involved in a conversation or let yourself be put under time pressure.
- Call back via official numbers: Dial 110 or your bank’s known number yourself – do not use the redial button on your phone.
Conclusion and Outlook
Police investigations are in full swing, but solving such crimes is complex due to the often international structures of the perpetrator gangs. Therefore, prevention is the most effective weapon against fraud. The police particularly appeal to younger family members to talk to parents and grandparents and inform them about these common schemes.
Stay vigilant, protect your data, and do not hesitate to contact the real police immediately in case of doubt.
Source:
Warning against fake police officers and bank employees
Transparency Note: This article was created automatically, editorially reviewed, and expanded with AI support.