CASPERIA – A text message on his cell phone, then a reassuring call from a phony bank employee, and within hours, his account was drained. This is the scam carried out against a 64-year-old pensioner, duped using a fake anti-fraud service. Carabinieri officers from the Casperia station have reported five people—four men and a woman aged between 22 and 41, originally from the provinces of Avellino, Turin, Macerata, and Naples. Some are already known to law enforcement.
According to the reconstruction, the victim received a text message announcing an urgent call from his bank's anti-fraud office. Shortly thereafter, the phone actually rang. The caller was prepared and convincing, creating a climate of alarm by talking about an alleged attempted fraudulent access to his account. Under this pretext, the man was allegedly tricked into providing the access codes to his online reserved area.
Once they obtained the credentials, the scammers allegedly made five transfers to different bank accounts, totaling nearly €20. The damage was only discovered later, when the pensioner noticed the suspicious transactions.
The investigations launched by the military allowed them to trace the account holders receiving the funds and outline the operations of an organized group specializing in online fraud. Through bank checks and investigative inquiries, the Carabinieri filed charges against the five alleged perpetrators.
The Carabinieri reiterate their call for caution: never provide personal codes, passwords, or bank details over the phone or via text message. In the event of suspicious communications, it is essential to cut off contact and immediately contact law enforcement or your bank.
Changes and revisions to this article
- Article updated on 16/02/2026 at 11:32 PM - Content typo corrected
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Comments (1)
It's truly incredible how people can fall for these scams, especially older people who aren't very tech-savvy. They should be more careful and better informed about how to recognize a scam. It's a terrible situation.