Deception (social engineering): Private individual, Germany 2025
A caller claimed that the 87-year-old woman’s grandson had run over a pregnant woman and demanded 70'000 euros in bail.
- Incident · 09.2025 · Saxony-Anhalt (Nienburg, Salzlandkreis), Germany
- Evidence: confirmed by an authority
- Deception (social engineering)
- Fraud
As of
What happened
The woman agreed with him on 20'000 euros and handed the cash to a courier, while being kept on the phone the whole time. Only later did she contact the police herself.
- Affected
- Private individual (anonymous)
- Industry
- Private individual
- Loss
- EUR 20'000 (handed over in cash)
- Business interruption
- unknown
- Ransom demanded / paid
- unknown / unknown
- Data affected
- unknown
- Bankruptcy
- no
- Entry point
- Shock call: grandson supposedly ran over a pregnant woman
What would cyber insurance have paid?
That depends on the terms. Whether those affected were insured: unknown.
We have not assigned any cyber insurance module to this case.
Overview based on public policy terms, as of 06.11.2026. Only your policy and its general terms and conditions (GTC) are binding. No confirmation of cover.
What we can learn
Hang up and call relatives back on the known number; the police never ask for cash.
Sources
- Präventionshinweise nach Schockanruf / Enkeltrick in Nienburg (Polizeimeldung 229/2025) (opens in a new window) Polizeirevier Salzlandkreis · 2025-09-30
«Da die Seniorin diese Summe nicht aufbringen konnte, einigte sie sich mit dem Anrufer auf 20.000 Euro.»