Fake cop scams elderly widow out of €10,000 weeks after husband’s funeral

Two women posing as police officers robbed a grieving 81-year-old widow of 10,000 euros worth of money and jewelry in the Utrecht village of Austerlitz on Monday. “Inhuman and sick,” her daughter, Natasja, said to RTV Utrecht about the scam.

The elderly woman lost her husband a few weeks ago. On Monday, she received a call from a woman pretending to work for the police. The woman said that a criminal gang was active in the area and the police would come to her home to check her security and secure her valuables.

“They also mentioned my name and that inspired confidence,” Natasja said. “They must have found my name in an obituary. So despicable.” The fake cop said that Natasja had advised the police check.

A short time later, a woman was at the door. “A nice person. She didn’t wear police clothing, but was very kind to my mother.” She saw the condolence cards in the home. “She said to my mother: have you lost someone dear to you? Oh, how terrible. That you now also have to go through this. But your daughter is arranging everything well.”

The scammer made the elderly woman go up the stairs several times to look for money and jewelry. “When the lady was about to leave, she saw that my mother was still wearing some rings and bracelets. She asked: madam, don’t you want to secure those too? Of course, it is up to you. But my mother gave them to her.”

The victim called her daughter some time later, distraught and confused. Gradually, Natasja realized that her mother had been scammed. “She felt very stupid. Fortunately, she is doing better now.”

The police confirmed to RTV Utrecht that they were investigating the scam and have made no arrests yet.

Recently, the police reported an increase in scams involving fake police officers. So far this year, the police received reports about around 4,000 such scams, up from 500 in all of 2023.