Police investigate fraud in Germany and false emergency report in Croatia

In Germany, an elderly woman in Hürtgenwald, North Rhine-Westphalia, was defrauded of several thousand euros by individuals impersonating police officers. The perpetrators contacted her by phone, claiming her bank card was faulty and instructing her to leave the card and her PIN outside her front door for collection. Following these instructions, the suspects retrieved the items and withdrew a mid-four-digit sum from her account. Local police have issued warnings advising citizens never to leave bank cards, PINs, or cash at their doorstep and to verify the identity of callers by dialing official police numbers directly.

In Croatia, Zadar police have filed criminal charges against a 36-year-old doctor suspected of making a false emergency call. The incident occurred in January 2024, after medical technicians had complained about loud music during a party organized by doctors in an apartment above the emergency services premises. The doctor allegedly called the emergency center to report a medical emergency on the island of Vir, prompting an ambulance crew to spend approximately one hour searching for a non-existent victim. The case has been forwarded to the state attorney's office.