Phone scammers lift €100,000 in pensioner’s buried savings

A pensioner successful a bluish Greek village who had buried €100,000 successful currency successful her plot for safekeeping has mislaid the full sum aft falling for a telephone scammer who posed arsenic an accountant, constabulary said Friday.

A constabulary statement said a 22-year-old antheral has been arrested for stealing the money, which amounted to the 76-year-old woman’s beingness savings. Police are trying to place a 2nd antheral believed to beryllium progressive successful the scam.

Similar cases person go communal successful Greece, arsenic criminals displacement distant from violent location invasions to lower-risk fraud that besides carries little penalties should they beryllium arrested and convicted. Despite repeated constabulary nationalist consciousness campaigns, the signifier remains highly effective, mostly with aged oregon different vulnerable people.

The woman’s troubles began with a telephone call, ostensibly from an accountant’s office, that claimed she owed wealth to the tax authorities. The scammer gradually gained her confidence, to the constituent that when helium asked whether she had currency oregon valuables astatine location – maintaining that they would request to beryllium declared for tax purposes – she confided successful him astir the plot hoard.

The antheral asked her to unearth it, claiming that helium would nonstop a drone to grounds it, and then kept her connected the telephone agelong capable for an subordinate to participate the plot and region the currency erstwhile the woman had returned indoors.

Police said the incidental occurred successful a village adjacent Thessaloniki. It was unclear whether immoderate of the buried hoard was recovered.