Cimitile - Early Saturday afternoon, an 83-year-old man, believing he owed compensation for a minor accident, showed up at the town post office to withdraw some money.
Behind that request, however, was yet another "fake accident scam," a notorious ploy aimed at targeting the elderly.
According to the Carabinieri's reconstruction, Vincenzo Moreno Abbruzzese, a 28-year-old from Avellino, staged a fake traffic accident. After approaching the victim, he allegedly faked damage to his vehicle, demanding immediate compensation to avoid involving the insurance companies.
The elderly man, in good faith, had already handed over 50 euros and went to the post office to collect more cash.
Behind the counter, however, the expert eye of an employee spotted the anomaly. The man listened to the story, noticed the suspicious presence the elderly man described outside the building, and acted promptly. Pretending to continue with the operation, he discreetly walked away to alert 112.
A few minutes later, Carabinieri patrols from Cimitile arrived, but upon seeing them, the scammer jumped into his car and fled. A fierce chase ensued along several streets in the Nola area, amid heavy traffic and passersby startled by the sound of sirens. After a few kilometers, the scammer abandoned the vehicle in a desperate attempt to disappear, but was caught and stopped by the police.
Inside the car, the Carabinieri found the 50 euro note that the elderly man had handed over as the first "compensation" for an accident that never occurred. Vincenzo Moreno Abbruzzese, a 28-year-old from Avellino, was arrested on charges of aggravated fraud and resisting a public officer and is currently being held in custody awaiting sentencing.
The episode once again highlights the vulnerability of the elderly in the face of increasingly sophisticated scams, but also the importance of the alertness and courage of those, like the postal worker from Cimitile, who can recognize a scam and act promptly.
Comments (1)
The article is interesting, but there's a lot that's unclear. Why would an elderly man give money without checking first? Furthermore, the scammer was very clever; it seems like a story that could happen to anyone.