Agerola: Scammers send taxi to pick up pensioner with jewelry

Agerola – A timely intervention by the Carabinieri yesterday afternoon in Agerola, in the province of Naples, foiled a sophisticated scam targeting a 62-year-old Roman pensioner, who was about to be robbed of cash and jewelry.

The dynamics, reconstructed by law enforcement, are that of a classic "fake carabiniere," but with a disturbing organizational detail: the scammers had booked a taxi to pick up the victim.

It all started with a phone call to the woman's 32-year-old son. A man, posing as a member of the Carabinieri, convinced him to urgently report to the police station in Positano for an alleged interrogation regarding a robbery.

Fake summons to the police station for his son

As soon as her son left the house, it was the mother's turn. Another accomplice called her, claiming her son had been involved in a serious car accident. To "help" him, she was ordered to gather all her savings and valuables from the house.

To make the whole thing more credible and quicker, the criminal announced that a taxi, already booked, would pick her up and take her to a "safe" place where she could hand over everything.

The plan was about to be carried out, but was thwarted by the intuition of one of the woman's nieces, who perceived the anomaly of the situation and immediately alerted the real police.

The military intervened at the pensioner's home just as the scam was taking place, saving her and launching all necessary investigations to trace the identity of the gang.

Investigations are now focusing on the phone calls and the taxi ride, to identify and capture those responsible for a fraud attempt that exploits fear and family love, targeting the most vulnerable victims with increasingly sophisticated techniques.