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“Hello grandma, guess who’s on the phone!” This is exactly the typical beginning of a grandchild fraudulent phone call. Scammers pretend to be a family member or loved one under some pretext to make money. Besides the grandchild trick, there are countless other exploitation tactics. The victims are mostly elderly people. Scammers always manage to steal large amounts of money.
Nine-figure damage a year
A study commissioned by Pro Senectute, the charity for older people, calculated the amounts of damage. The result is shocking. Research conducted over the last five years estimates annual losses of 675 million francs resulting from financial exploitation of people over 55 years of age. This is two-thirds more than the first survey in 2018. At that time, this amount was “only” 400 million francs per year.
Who is affected and how badly?
The rate of those who face fraud attempts is equal to the amount of money obtained illegally. Almost four in five people over the age of 55 have experienced some level of abuse in the last five years. Almost one in four people were victimized and actually lost money.
Women and men are affected practically equally. However, it turns out that the rates increase as age increases. As we get older, our chances of falling into financial fraud increase. The study also reveals that French-speaking Switzerland has the highest number of victims at 25.9 percent. In German-speaking Switzerland, this rate is 18.2 percent, and in Italian-speaking regions it is 15.3 percent.
Approximately 100,000 calls per year
So why do people still fall into the trap even though the tricks are generally known? Over the years, scammers continue to develop new ideas to extort money from older generations. “Grandchild fraud as a phenomenon is in sharp decline,” Federal Police Bureau Fedpol told Blick. “Since 2023, almost exclusively shock calls have been recorded,” he continues.
Shock call is the new weapon of fraud gangs. But one thing remains the same: The victim’s emotional connection must open the safe. The caller reports that a relative is involved in an emergency and therefore related expenses must be paid immediately. Famous fake incidents include hospitalizations requiring emergency surgery or arrests requiring bail.
Figures from the Pro Senectute investigation confirm Fedpol’s statement. In the last five years, they estimate there have been 196,000 grandtrick calls and 285,000 shock calls; This means almost 100,000 attempts per year. Around 12,000 and 24,000 elderly people fell for scammers.
Are those affected talking about it?
These are incredibly high numbers and show how widespread the problem is. Still never heard of him? No wonder, because few people say a word about it. 54 percent of victims of financial abuse kept the incident to themselves. Most of the time, probably out of embarrassment.
Others shared the incident primarily with their family (28.2 percent), their significant other (25.2 percent), or a close person (19.5 percent). Only 17.7 percent report to the police after losing money.
This week “Izzy” celebrates the premiere of her action documentary “Tricksters of the Grandchildren.” The online magazine not only allows influencers to have their say, but also traps the scammers themselves. During the investigation, the handcuffs clicked more than once! The Torun mafia is therefore the main plot of this week’s multi-part series. You can watch the movie “Onkeltrick Scammers” at enkeltrickbetrueger.ch or on Blick+.
This week “Izzy” celebrates the premiere of her action documentary “Tricksters of the Grandchildren.” The online magazine not only allows influencers to have their say, but also traps the scammers themselves. During the investigation, the handcuffs clicked more than once! The Torun mafia is therefore the main plot of this week’s multi-part series. You can watch the movie “Onkeltrick Scammers” at enkeltrickbetrueger.ch or on Blick+.
The number of unreported cases is too high
The cantonal police department records reports of grandchild tricks and shock calls in common statistics. Officially, 3,329 attempts were made in 2023; a year ago the number was only 956, while in 2011 the number was 295. Financial abuse among seniors is clearly on the rise, although some of the reported cases are likely due to increased awareness of the issue. Compared to Pro Senectute’s study, which calculated dozens of times more attempts per year, the number of unreported cases is likely much higher.
The amount of loss known to Fedpol in 2023 is 11,547,780 francs. Here again the real total is probably much higher.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
