Warminsko-Mazurskie

17th February 2012

Elblag police have noticed a sudden upsurge in attempts to con old people with bogus tales of grandchildren in need, with as many as fifteen attempts reported in the last week. There is a new twist to the trick this time, though - the hoaxers claim they are in London and ask for a bank transfer.

“Unfortunately, of the fifteen reports, four were fooled by the con-artists and sent sums of money around the PLN 6,000 mark,” Jakub Sawicki for Elblag police told reporters. “The London angle is a new element in the deception. The fraudster asks for the money to be transferred to a “friend’s” account. That way it’s easier to collect the cash,” Sawicki continued.

One of the victims was even warned by a bank clerk that he might be being cheated. “Unfortunately, the gentleman refused to listen to them and went to another bank instead,” concluded Sawicki.

Police are appealing to the elderly to be on the lookout and in no circumstances to send money to a stranger’s account.

Shock therapy

Three patients in the cardiology ward at Olsztyn Regional Hospital received an unwelcome shock this Wednesday when a drunk man shut himself in a room with them and threatened to kill them. It was about 3.30pm when the man burst onto the ward, before locking himself in the room, screaming threats at the seriously ill patients.

Officers arrived quickly, broke the door down and took the 36-year-old away to the nearby psychiatric ward for observation. They also discovered the same man had earlier ben involved in a road collision, abandoning his vehicle at the scene. He now faces up to three years in prison.