An elderly woman from Pachino, in the province of Syracuse, was the victim of a scam by a couple from Naples who pretended to be Carabinieri.
The scammers called the woman and told her that her son had run over a little girl and had been arrested. To free him, they asked her to hand over 10.000 euros to a carabiniera who would come to her house.
While the man kept the woman on the phone, the woman posing as a police officer came to his house and took the money the victim had in cash.
Given the availability of money, the scammer he then increased his request, stating that another 12.000 euros were needed for his son's release from prison.
After handing over all the money, the fake carabiniera walked away. Only then did the woman realize she had been the victim of a scam and called a relative, who in turn alerted the Carabinieri.
The Carabinieri collected the woman's complaint and, thanks to her description of the scammer and the images from the surveillance cameras, they identified the car used by the couple.
The couple was arrested upon arrival of the ferry in Naples
The Carabinieri of the Investigative Unit tracked down the car which in the meantime was already on a ferry headed to Naples.
Colleagues from the Naples Center Company waited for the couple to disembark and searched their car. All the stolen money was found inside the car. The pair of fake carabinieri were arrested.
Article published on 15 July 2024 - 09:59
