Roncofreddo: Massive scam involving over €200 targeting an elderly couple: 5 people reported

A brilliant operation of the Carabinieri of the Roncofreddo Station has allowed us to unmask a complex telephone scam to the detriment of a couple of pensioners over 70 year olds of the territory and to recover approximately 190.000 € of the 200.000 stolen through deception and fraudulent transfers. According to the reconstruction by the investigators, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Forlì, five people – now reported – are said to have acted in concert to convince the two elderly people to transfer large sums of money to current accounts indicated by the scammers themselves.

The couple presented themselves at the Carabinieri station after realising they had been deceived by a self-styled bank operator, who had contacted them by telephone claiming to have to "protect" their savings from an alleged computer fraud. Under pressure and in good faith, the two spouses made the numerous bank transfers towards current accounts indicated by the scammer, for a total of over 200.000 €The military immediately took action and requested the freezing of the accounts involved. Collaboration with real bank employees allowed us to block most of the transactions.

Il Deputy Prosecutor he then asked, and obtained from GIP of the Court of Forlì, preventive seizure of the financial relationships used for the fraud. The measure, executed very quickly by the Carabinieri, allowed recover most of the stolen money, subsequently returned to the couple, relieved and deeply grateful for the effectiveness of the intervention.

The episode confirms once again the growing diffusion of scams for the elderly, often perpetrated through deceptive phone calls or fake bank operators. Law enforcement officials urge you never to trust anyone who asks for financial information or instructions over the phone and to immediately contact the emergency number.