Online scam involving ghost classic cars: A couple unmasked by the Carabinieri.

A well-conceived scam, fueled by dreams of four wheels and drained from overseas bank accounts. The criminal activity of two Uzbek citizens, a 62-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman, both residents of Montesilvano, in the province of Pescara, ended with an arrest and a stay-at-home order. The pair had set up a well-oiled system: they posted fake online ads for the sale of classic cars, lured unsuspecting enthusiasts, and disappeared with the money.

The investigation was triggered by a complaint from a resident of Teora, a small town in Alta Irpinia, who had several thousand euros stolen for a car that never arrived. The Carabinieri of the Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi Company, with patience and investigative precision, managed to identify the two scammers, who had allegedly carried out at least eight similar heists.

But the case revealed much more than a simple online scam: it was a sophisticated self-laundering scheme. The money, over €8.500, was moved in rapid succession to different accounts, including abroad, and then reinvested in cryptocurrencies, making it difficult to trace.

The man was arrested and taken to prison Pescara, while his partner will have to comply with the obligation to remain in residence and sign in regularly at the police station. This operation demonstrates how even in small towns, the alert against digital scams must remain high: technology can be a double-edged sword, capable of connecting but also of deceiving.

Vincenzo Scarpa

Vincenzo Scarpa, Journalist for Cronache della Campania and
Political Science student at the University of Naples Federico II.
Passionate about all types of sports, he loves to write and talk mainly about football.