Two young men aged 18 and 23, from the province of Naples, were arrested by the Carabinieri of the Provincial Command of Potenza on charges of aggravated fraud.
The victims are a 90-year-old woman living in Oppido Lucano, from whom 14.100 euros were stolen.
The modus operandi
The scammers contacted the victim, pretending to be a lawyer and a Carabinieri marshal. With a well-tested technique, they made the woman believe that her nephew had been arrested following a road accident and that 35.000 euros were needed to free him.
The psychological pressure exerted over the phone, combined with the arrival of one of the two accomplices who introduced himself as a marshal, induced the elderly woman to hand over all the cash she had in the house.
The arrest and the recovery of the money
Shortly after realizing the scam, the woman alerted her family, who immediately contacted 112. Thanks to a timely operation, the Carabinieri managed to intercept and block the two young men fleeing on state road 407. Basentana, in the direction of Potenza-Salerno.
The two were arrested and taken to prison, where the investigating judge of the Court of Potenza validated the arrest. The entire stolen sum was recovered and returned to the victim.
Article published on March 29, 2025 - 12pm
