This morning, Wednesday 15 May, Mrs. G., aged 94, resident in Varese, received a phone call from an unknown number. On the other end of the phone, despite continuing to ask who it was, the lady only heard a woman sobbing: “She was crying and I immediately thought it could be one of my husband’s nieces, I thought something bad had happened – she said – so , stupidly, I asked her if she was this relative of mine and she immediately seized the opportunity by claiming to be her”.
The scammer on the phone told the lady that she had been in a serious car accident and that it was important to be able to pay the damages immediately. He then asked her how much money she had available and once he realized that it was only a small sum, he upped the ante by asking if the lady had of the jewels and describe them to him.
“I told her that what little I had I gave to my children – she continues – and that if we really could have something at home, my daughter or granddaughter should have it. So she told me that my daughter and granddaughter were already at the police station and were waiting for her there. That’s when I got suspicious, I went to check and my niece was, as I imagined, in her room. When she realized that she had been discovered, she hung up on him, but of course he was trying to figure out if there was anything in my house he could steal“.
Unfortunately, this type of scam, both telephone and non-telephone, they are very common and they strike above all older people. Byou must therefore be very careful. Once the phone call was ended, the danger of the scam having escaped, the lady’s niece contacted the Postal Police to find out how to behave: in these situations You should not give out personal information over the phone if you are not absolutely sure who is talking to you and call 112 the moment a phone call or someone asks to enter the house for any reason, it seems suspicious to us.
