Since the beginning of the year, the German capital has seen an increase in phone crime targeting Russian-speaking seniors. Berlin police report that as of February 24, around 20 such cases have been recorded, with victims' total losses amounting to approximately 400,000 euros. The perpetrators operate according to a refined script, impersonating distraught relatives and fake police officers to extort money for alleged bail.
Scale of Scams and Financial Losses
Since January 2026, about 20 cases of scams using the so-called shock call method have been registered in Berlin. The total amount of extorted funds reaches 400,000 euros, indicating high effectiveness and significant losses for individual victims.
Perpetrators' Modus Operandi
The perpetrators, using the Russian language, target elderly, Russian-speaking individuals. In the call, they impersonate a crying relative who allegedly caused a fatal accident, and then a "police officer" demands immediate payment of high bail.
Example of a Specific Case
On Monday, an 84-year-old resident of the Spandau district received a call from a person claiming to be his daughter-in-law asking for money. Later, a courier came to his home and collected cash. This shows the organized nature of the actions, combining psychological pressure with physical collection of money.
Target Group and Language of Attack
The scammers target the Russian-speaking community in Berlin, mainly elderly individuals. Using the Russian language and knowledge of this group's social realities allows them to build credibility and more easily overcome the resistance of potential victims.
Berlin has recorded a significant increase in sophisticated phone scams targeting Russian-speaking seniors. Police reported that from the beginning of the year until February 24, about 20 such crimes were registered, with the total amount of losses reaching around 400,000 euros. The perpetrators operate using a scheme known as shock call scam. The scenario is always similar: the victim receives a call from a person impersonating a distraught relative who claims to have caused a fatal car accident and needs help.
Phone scams using social engineering techniques have been a global problem for decades. However, with the development of telecommunications and migration, the target groups and languages of attack change. In Germany, which has a large Russian-speaking community resulting from historical waves of migration, this type of crime is not new, but its scale and aggressiveness can vary. Then the conversation is taken over by a person claiming to be a police officer, who demands an immediate payment of high bail to allegedly save the relative from arrest. As police report, the scammers target elderly, Russian-speaking residents of Berlin, exploiting their language knowledge and likely social isolation. The criminals have been operating at a high frequency since January. One documented case concerns an 84-year-old man from Spandau, whose "daughter-in-law" asked for money over the phone, and a few hours later a courier personally collected cash from him. This physical collection of funds indicates the organized structure of the criminal group. All three analyzed German media outlets – Der Tagesspiegel, DIE WELT, and stern.de – provide identical numerical data and description of the method, pointing to a common source of information, likely a Berlin police statement. The articles lack information on arrests of suspects or details of the ongoing investigation, suggesting the perpetrators remain at large.