He tried to trick a family by asking for bail to free an “arrested” relative, but he chose the wrong victim and ended up in handcuffs.
A 31-year-old man originally from Naples was arrested in Aci Castello, in the province of Catania, after attempting to defraud a retired Carabinieri officer.
The story began with a phone call to the former soldier's home number. Pretending to be a carabiniere, the scammer said that the victim's daughter had been arrested and asked for bail to be paid to "resolve the situation."
Suspicious, the man turned to his colleagues at the local Carabinieri station, who immediately recognized the modus operandi as a telephone scam.
With the help of the military, the victim maintained contact with the scammer, pretending to be willing to pay. In the meantime, the Carabinieri organized an operation to unmask the man. During the telephone conversations, the former officer feigned concern, negotiated the amount and recorded some snippets of the call, which were then handed over to the investigators.
The scammer showed up for the appointment in front of the victim's house on board a Fiat 500L, which turned out to have been rented in Pompeii. The "deposit" requested? Two valuable watches. As soon as the 31-year-old tried to collect the stolen goods, the carabinieri, stationed nearby, stopped and arrested him.
By order of the preliminary investigations judge, who validated the arrest, the scammer was placed under house arrest at his home in Campania. The case is yet another demonstration of how important it is to pay attention to telephone scams, which are increasingly widespread and often aimed at targeting the most vulnerable people.
Article published on 27 January 2025 - 15:33
