Children protect seniors: With art against telephone fraudsters in Hamm!

Children protect seniors: With art against telephone fraudsters in Hamm!

A very special initiative has seen the light of day in tranquil Hamm-Bockum-Hövel. The second graders Laura Pesch and Enno Süllwold have launched a creative and important project with the city seniors - a signal against the brazen fraudsters who primarily target older people. Today the children handed over an envelope with a flyer from the police and colorful pictures with clear messages against telephone fraud. Enno's work shows the words “Fraudster” and the urgent appeal “Attention”.

The campaign is all about the “Children painting for seniors” campaign, in which hundreds of pictures were created, which are now being distributed in the area in the form of 1,800 flyers. In addition to the paintings, these flyers also contain important behavioral tips and a cover letter from the police. The aim is to sensitize the older generations in particular to the scams used by fraudsters and to educate them on how they can protect themselves from the nasty tricks of telephone fraudsters. Finally, in recent months, scammers have set their sights on a notable target: seniors, who are often squeezed in financial hardship situations.

The tricks of the fraudsters

During the project presentation, a serious topic was raised: Last week, an 86-year-old in Hamm transferred an incredible 60,000 euros to a fake police officer. Unfortunately, these perfidious scams are not isolated cases. Fraudsters call older people, pretend to be relatives or police officers and, through clever manipulation, manage to gain the victims' trust. Pressure is often built up to force quick action.

But seniors are not only at risk when it comes to telephone scams. According to a report by the Care panorama There has been an alarming increase of over 50% in cyber fraud targeting the elderly in 2023. Perpetrators have greatly refined their methods and use, among other things, phishing attacks in which they send deceptively genuine emails to obtain sensitive data. These attacks are most common in online banking transactions, where many seniors often find themselves in a confusing situation.

Tips to protect yourself from fraud

The police warn urgently: Do not allow yourself to be put under pressure on the phone and do not reveal any information about your financial situation. The main focus of the campaign is on seniors expanding their skills in using digital media. The Consumer protection reported the need for seniors to be more educated about common scams and encouraged to increase their knowledge of online banking.

If the project proves successful, it could be expanded to other parts of the city to provide even more seniors with protection from fraudsters. It remains to be hoped that Laura and Enno's creative approaches will find fertile ground and that more information will be provided about the dangers in order to better protect older citizens.