Scam alert: Thieves pretend son’s accident to steal money and valuables from elderly

Last Updated: May 14, 2024

Raffadali, furto in un appartamento: rubati oggetti in oro e argento per un valore di oltre diecimila euro

An elderly woman was scammed in Enna. According to the woman’s account, she was tricked and had around 1500 euros, gold jewelry, and other valuable items stolen from her home. The pensioner reported the incident to the police yesterday, stating that she received a phone call from someone pretending to be a military officer who claimed that her son had been involved in a serious accident.

In the accident, a pregnant woman was said to have been involved and lost the baby she was carrying. The fake officer also mentioned that the woman’s son would be arrested and in order to avoid custody, he needed to pay 8000 euros. The woman was first contacted by a fake lawyer who provided instructions, and then by a colonel who said that another officer would come to her home to collect the money.

The woman explained that she did not have the full amount at home, so she gave away whatever valuable items she had when the scammer arrived. A neighbor noticed something was wrong after hearing noises from the woman’s home. Once the scam was discovered, the elderly woman was taken to the police station to file a report.

This is not the first time scammers have used a similar story to deceive the elderly. Similar incidents have occurred not only in Sicily, but also in different regions of Italy.