National enhed for Særlig Kriminalitet (NSK) is warning about scam calls targeting elderly people who have just lost a spouse. The unit said it is currently receiving a number of reports about the calls, according to Ekstra Bladet, DR and Berlingske.
NSK said the criminals call elderly citizens claiming to be from Udbetaling Danmark and tell them they have an inheritance, excess tax, or other money due. The elderly are asked for their card number, expiry date, and the three-digit security code, and then to approve with MitID. Instead, the scammers make purchases with the victims' cards.
"The scammers use information from death notices, including family members' names and details about the death or funeral, to appear credible and manipulate the bereaved into believing the call is legitimate," said Allan Lørup, deputy police inspector at NSK. Lørup stressed that public authorities would never call citizens and ask for card and MitID details. Victims are typically elderly citizens aged 80-90, and they are in a very vulnerable mental state because they are grieving, according to the deputy police inspector.
"It is deeply distasteful that criminals exploit people in grief to commit fraud. We urge children and other relatives to talk with surviving spouses about being especially vigilant," Lørup said. Police advise anyone who receives a call from someone claiming to be from a bank or authority to hang up and contact the company or authority the caller claimed to represent.
Police are conducting an initial investigation of the cases.
Copenhagen Police said in a statement that a 46-year-old man was arrested and charged with having stayed illegally in Denmark for 11 years. He was arrested Tuesday at his workplace in Lyngby after a lengthy investigation with Portuguese authorities. He is also charged with fraudulently obtaining Portuguese citizenship.
The man, originally a Bangladeshi citizen, appears in Dommervagten at Copenhagen City Court on Wednesday.