Gaeta – They had pretended to be Carabinieri, calling from a number that appeared to be the police station. With a firm voice, a reassuring tone, and a carefully crafted story, they had convinced an elderly woman from Gaeta to hand over jewelry and money, fearing for her safety.
Behind that phone call, however, were not law enforcement officials, but a gang of serial scammers, experts in "fake policeman" scams, who have been preying on elderly people in central and southern Italy for months.
Thanks to a comprehensive investigation conducted by the Gaeta State Police and coordinated by the Cassino Prosecutor's Office, the three perpetrators of the scam were identified and arrested. Two of them were jailed, while the third was placed under house arrest with an electronic bracelet.
The scam: "Madam, we stopped four foreigners with your diary."
The scam began a few days ago. The elderly woman received a call from a number that appeared on the display as that of the Carabinieri in Gaeta.
On the other end, a male voice, polite but firm, told her a disturbing story: "Madam, we stopped a car with four Algerians in it. Two fled, and we arrested two of them. They had a diary with your name and address. We must protect you; keep your valuables safe."
Frightened and confused, the woman replied that she only had a few family gold items at home. Then the scammer doubled down: "I'll send you a plainclothes colleague of mine, a trusted Carabinieri officer.
Come down and hand everything over to him, it's for your safety." The elderly woman, convinced she was cooperating with the police, handed over her jewelry to the fake soldier waiting for her outside her house. The following day, another phone call: the same "Carabiniere" asked her to go to the bank and make two transfers to a current account "for reasons of judicial security."
Only after a few hours, unable to contact the alleged officers, the woman realized she had been scammed and asked for help from the Gaeta Police Station.
Investigators from the Latina Police Headquarters immediately initiated a series of bank checks and searches, examining smartphones and transactions related to bank transfers.
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Digital traces led the officers to three men, already known to law enforcement for similar crimes, with operational bases between Benevento, Caserta, and Naples.
Investigations revealed that the group's instigator, currently under house arrest in the Benevento area, organized the telephone operations, managing contacts and providing precise instructions to his accomplices.
The person who actually carried out the scam – and showed up at the old woman's door – was a Neapolitan criminal, recognized without hesitation by the victim.
A third member, resident in the Caserta area, acted as an intermediary for managing bank accounts and bank transfers.
The preliminary investigations judge of the Cassino court, accepting the request of the prosecution, ordered the precautionary custody in prison for two of the suspects and house arrest with an electronic bracelet for the third.
The three were arrested simultaneously by staff from the Gaeta Police Station, in collaboration with the police stations of Santa Maria Capua Vetere and Benevento, where the two main suspects were transferred to prison.
Investigators are now verifying whether the gang could be linked to other similar incidents recorded in recent weeks in Lazio, Campania, and Molise.
The Gaeta case draws attention to a worryingly growing phenomenon: scams targeting the elderly, often alone or frail, targeted by criminals who exploit their trust in institutions to deceive them.
According to law enforcement data, in the last six months alone, in Southern Italy there have been hundreds of reports of telephone scams conducted using the same scheme: the fake police officer, the relative in need, the doctor or lawyer asking for money to "avoid legal trouble."
Authorities renew their appeal to citizens: never give money or items to strangers, always verify the identity of anyone who presents themselves to law enforcement, and immediately call 112 or 113 if you suspect anything.
"I'm still shocked, but I want my story to serve as a warning to others," the victim reportedly confided to the officers.
A sentence that encapsulates the full gravity of episodes like this: not only economic damage, but a profound wound in people's trust in those who wear a uniform.
Comments (1)
It's truly incredible how there are people who exploit the good faith of elderly people. It's crucial that law enforcement continue to provide information to prevent similar scams. Citizen safety must be a priority.