Tonnie Hendriks from Goirle is inconsolable. In good faith, she handed over all her valuables to someone ‘from the police’ on Tuesday. But it is now clear that she has fallen for a chat trick and will probably never see the stuff again. Her late husband’s wedding ring. Her own jewelry. And the money she had set aside for a big party. It’s all gone,” daughter Els Verhoeven says sadly.
Els installed a doorbell with a camera for her mother last year, after Tonnie had been visited by a fake home care employee. “When my mother did not do what that woman asked, she was gone very quickly. I told her not to answer the door again because they are trying to take her things. A few days later they had someone else in the apartment complex.”
“She didn’t realize she had to call me first.”
But when Tonnie got a call from ‘someone from the police’, she fell for it anyway. “He told her that the people who had been with her last year had been arrested. But one person was still a fugitive. He might come back,” says Els. The man on the phone advised Tonnie to put her things in a safe, so that they were safe. Someone from the bank would come by later that day to collect the things.
Devious as the scammers were, they said her daughter Els was at the police station at the time for some more information. “So she didn’t realize she had to call me first,” says Els. A little later a man rang the doorbell.
Tonnie gave him everything of value in her house. Cash, about 10,000 euros in jewelry, her wedding ring and that of her late husband. “They said they would put everything away and return it at the end of the week. She was allowed to keep 50 euros so that she could still do some shopping.”
“She had promised things to her grandchildren, she can no longer give all that.”
When Tonnie told home care a little later, Els was alarmed. She immediately called the police. “Everything that has emotional value to us is gone. She had promised things to her grandchildren, she can no longer give that,” says Els. “A few months ago she said: ‘Bring us Dad’s wedding ring’. I didn’t think that was necessary at the time. Now I think, if only I had taken it with me”, she sobs.
Tonnie was also saving for a big party she wanted to throw when she turns 95. She had set aside 850 euros. That money is also gone. “My mother is very upset. She said, ‘Call it off. Because I’ve lost everything’. She is crying all day.”
Police arrived Wednesday morning to investigate. According to Els, agents found a footprint and took the camera footage. They also posted letters in the flat to warn other residents. Els will talk to the manager of the complex on Thursday. “It would be good if everyone here got a camera at the front door. The elderly must be much better protected,” says Els.
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