Pro-Senectute expert offers six tips: This is how you can protect yourself from shock calls

Burri Follath recommends talking to family members or acquaintances you meet while shopping or at a coffee shop about the danger of telephone scammers. This means asking questions like: “Do you know anyone who has received a call like this before?” or “Do you know the stories phone scammers tell?”. “It’s important to keep the topic current,” says Burri Follath. Shock calls often hit an area in waves.

According to experts, if you have an unknown or anonymous phone number, you should always be aware that there may be a scammer on the other end of the line. “A post-it note next to the phone as a reminder to be careful of unknown numbers may be helpful.”

The telephone book used to be an integral part of daily life. This is no longer the case today, says Burri Follath. “Therefore, you can delete your entry in the phone book.” But that doesn’t mean you’re 100 percent protected against phone scammers. “They can reach the number by other means.”

If a scammer calls, there’s only one thing to do. Regardless of the story the caller tells, Burri Follath says every scam works essentially the same way. “You feel extremely stressed and under pressure, and during the call, the caller asks you to give or transfer the money in some way.” The moment you get stressed and money is involved, alarm bells should go off. The expert says: “You should hang up the phone as quickly as possible, otherwise the scammers will not let you go.” This is not rude, on the contrary, it serves to protect yourself.

If the story of the grandchild allegedly involved in the accident sounds believable and you’re stuck on the phone due to uncertainty, the expert says you shouldn’t reveal any information. “Fraudsters use interrogation techniques to obtain their victims’ personal information.” For example, you say, “Something terrible has happened to your beloved granddaughter,” and then you reflexively reveal her name and say, “What, my Sophie?” you say. So the scammer can continue his lie. Burri Follath says: “With open questions like: ‘Who are you? Why do you have my phone number? “If you tell me who you are again, you may come across fraudsters.”

The expert says it’s important to report any scam calls to the police immediately (number 117). “Officers can respond by increasing their presence in an area and alerting other people.”