Arezzo was also among the “hunting” territories of a gang of scammers defeated following a long investigation by the Carabinieri of Vimercate (Monza and Brianza). They had organized a fictitious online car market with the aim of getting their hands on the deposit for the sale (in reality a phantom transaction). Once the money was obtained from potential buyers, the fake sellers (but real scammers) disappeared.
The arrests
As he explains MonzaToday, The application order of the precautionary measures was issued by the investigating judge of the Court of Monza against 4 people, all of Italian nationality and all already known to the police, domiciled respectively in Brianza and in the province of Bergamo and seriously suspected of crimes of criminal association, fraud, impersonation and improper use of payment instruments. In particular, a 54-year-old and a 34-year-old, domiciled in the municipalities of Dalmine and Bergamo, ended up in prison, a 50-year-old and a 49-year-old woman, resident respectively in Burago di Molgora and Capriate San Gervasio, were placed under house arrest, while 8 other people were reported to free foot.
The investigations
The investigations, carried out by the Vimercate carabinieri, started in November 2022, from the complaint made by the holder of a card PostePay who had noticed some anomalous movements on his bank statement. The police initially identified the cardholder’s son as the author of the unrecognized transactions, and discovered that the anomalous transactions were related to credits made by people who were victims of online scams perpetrated through the publication of fake “bait” advertisements on well-known virtual platforms dedicated to the buying and selling of motor vehicles. In particular, according to the prosecution system, the victims interested in purchasing a vehicle (whose sales announcement was often also accompanied by photographs and detailed information) contacted the fake seller at the address indicated and paid a sum of money as advance while waiting to complete the operation. Reserving the right to pay the balance upon delivery of the goods. However, the deal never materialized because the authors of the alleged scams, after having collected the agreed advance, became permanently untraceable.
Having discovered the modus operandi of the scammers, the military followed up with meticulous investigative investigations which revealed the existence of a real criminal association whose main exponents, identified as the recipients of the precautionary measures carried out, made use of other affiliates who placed disposal of the organization the debit cards used to receive the undue credits. Then pocketing a percentage of the fraudulent transactions as compensation for the illicit services.
25 scams in total
During the investigation, the carabinieri identified the meeting place of the participants of the association in a restaurant in Agrate Brianza (whose owners and related staff were completely unaware and unrelated to the affair), where the phases were agreed upon. and the methods of each scam as well as the division of the proceeds. At the moment the scams carried out are 25 in total, to the detriment of victims living in Monza and Brianza, Vicenza, Udine, Turin, Arezzo, Naples, Lecce, Siena, Padua, Mantua and Prato. Scams which, between August 2022 and June 2023, would have yielded over 50 thousand euros. During the execution of the precautionary measure, assets and documents of various kinds deemed pertinent to the crimes committed were found and seized. The investigations will continue in order to identify other possible scams.
