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Thefts committed by abusing of trust of seniors

The victims of thefts where offenders use some ruse are mostly senior citizens. This is related to their mental state of mind in consequence of ripe old age and with it relating „childish“ overcredulity. Because of their loneliness they have an increased need to communicate even with strangers. Low social status is often the reason that seniors easily believe the unrealistic offers.

The offenders use for gaining of a trust the simple legends in which they act as persons acting in favour of aggrieved persons. Frequent used legends are: the offender impersonating a employee of powerplants, a employee of Social Insurance Agency, a doorstep trader or a person in life misery. In this way offender creates a situation in which it´s allowed for him to enter the dwelling and to lead an intensive conversation with victim during which he gains the victim´s trust. In the result of lowered attention is aggrieved person consequently robbed often of life savings. A typical example is, that the offender impersonates a employee of powerplants, under the pretext of return of overpaid or control the electrometer enters the dwelling, where asks the victim for changing a banknote of higher nominal value, whereby the victim inadvertently shows him the location of savings, which are stolen by offender after he attracts the victim´s attention to something else (e. g. to control of switches).  

To eliminate such type of crime there are used the preventive measures aimed at education of senior citizens, which are conducted mainly through the mass media (television, radio, information leaflets), as well as through direct contact of police with seniors, concretely during the performance of patrol service by uniformed police or during the discussions in the clubs of pensioners.