He posed as the daughter of an elderly woman, pretending to urgently need money to buy a new cell phone. This is how a 40-year-old man from the province of Bari managed to have €997 credited to a Postepay card. The scam took place in San Marcello Pistoiese, where the victim, an 83-year-old local, fell victim to the so-called "fake family member," one of the most widespread techniques in recent months.
The man, feigning affection and urgency, contacted the woman via WhatsApp, posing as his daughter and asking for immediate financial assistance. Convinced he was actually speaking to her relative, the elderly woman unsuspectingly recharged her card. Only after contacting her real daughter did the victim realize she had been scammed and contacted the Carabinieri in San Marcello.
The investigation began immediately, and thanks to bank traces, the police traced the Postepay cardholder, a forty-year-old from Puglia with a criminal record. The man was located in Caserta, where Carabinieri officers from the mobile radio unit stopped him while he still had the card used in the scam on him.
The Pistoia Provincial Command reiterated the importance of paying close attention to requests for money received via phone or chat: no institution, the Carabinieri recall, requests prepaid card top-ups or cash delivery. The advice remains the same: if in doubt, immediately stop contacting someone and contact family members or law enforcement.
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Comments (1)
It's incredible how people can believe these scams. I don't understand how an elderly woman could fall for something like this, but perhaps it's just desperation that leads to bad choices. We need to be more careful.