In several police regions, they are warning that fraud against the elderly is increasing.
At the same time, the elderly are encouraged to obtain a secret telephone number.
– Recently, we have been dealing with 60-70 cases per week, it is a catastrophic increase, says Björn Sidenhjärta, group manager for fraud coordination in police region Mitt.
This week, a league that is suspected of defrauding a large number of pensioners of several million was indicted. Over the course of several months, they are said to have obtained over SEK 12 million with the help of telephone fraud. There are about 80 plaintiffs in the case.
– I mean that the perpetrators had a clear plan where they deliberately targeted the elderly, says preliminary investigation leader Anton Larsson Forsberg.
But the case of the indicted league is just one of many where the elderly have been victimized.
The tip: Get a secret number
Alarms about fraud are increasing and police regions from all parts of the country have sounded the alarm and issued information on how to protect yourself. Now the police are going out with another tip.
– The fraudsters are completely dependent on being able to find telephone numbers for us. They do that on different websites. My best tip is for the elderly or if you have an acquaintance who could be scammed, it is to get a new secret phone number, says Björn Sidenhjärta.
According to Sidenhjärta, getting a secret phone number means that you can block almost all fraud attempts, as the fraudsters cannot get hold of one.
The police: “Catastrophic increase”
In police region Mitt, where Björn Sidenhjärta is head of fraud coordination, a marked increase in fraud has been seen recently.
– In recent weeks, we have seen that it has really picked up speed. It is precisely to the elderly that you send SMS or call, says Björn Sidenhjärta.
Usually they have around 20-25 cases to work on per week.
– Recently, we have been at 60-70 cases per week, it is a catastrophic increase, says Björn Sidenhjärta.
He describes it as a big problem and how the police are “drowning” in fraud cases, which take time to investigate.
– If we could avoid this, we would also be able to spend time on other crimes.
How to protect yourself against phone fraud
Hang up the phone
If someone calls you and you are unsure, end the call. This applies regardless of whether the person claims to be a relative or someone from your bank, a company or an authority. Prepare something to say to end the call quickly, or hang up immediately. You don’t have to be polite.
Do not log in
Never identify yourself with a bank ID and never give out codes from your bank box or to your payment card if someone asks for it.
Serious companies, organizations and authorities never contact you and ask you to log in or give out personal information in that way.
Don’t trust the caller
The fraudster may try to stress you out by saying that you are about to lose money or that a relative has been hurt.
Do not trust the caller even if they seem credible and have personal information about you.