Trieste: Operation “Fumo del Vesuvio”, to combat scams targeting the elderly. 10 arrests and 29 reports

One was held on March 22th press conference joint between the Prosecutor's Office and Provincial Command of the Carabinieri to take stock of the situation investigation into elder scams which was given the name “Smoke from Vesuvius”.

Following a significant increase in the phenomenon, the Investigative Unit of the Provincial Command Carabinieri of Trieste, directed by the local Public Prosecutor's Office, has implemented synergic investigations, supported by adequate preventive activity, aimed at combating this heinous crime on the territory.

The activity starts at the beginning of the summer of 2023. In fact, if the first months of that year had seen a relatively small number of cases, from June onwards the episodes multiplied, highlighting an emergency that it was imperative to contain.

Precisely this greater attention, in concert with the Station Commands, led to the identification andarrest of a recognized individual author, among the others, of a scam perpetrated in Prosecco.

The event allowed further development of the acquired elements and allowed identify two women who, arriving by train at Trieste, had the role of withdraw the sums collected from the victims following the scam carried out over the telephone by a phantom lawyer (sometimes a Marshal of the Carabinieri) who threatened unjust consequences for a serious road accident caused by a relative.

This in fact, with various nuances, is the plot of the scam into which dozens of elderly people began to fall.

Continuing the investigative activity, always in close contact with the Public Prosecutor's Office, we have arrived at theFG arrest, 45enne of Campanian origins who, during questioning, revealed the modus operandi, the various steps and roles of the criminal plan.

In summary, a area to “attack” that “tax collectors”, or those who collect the sums from the victims, reach them in the early morning.

At that same moment the “switchboard operators”, or rather those who actually make the phone call, begin to patrol the territory carrying out dozens of calls until the unfortunate victim falls into the trap.

- “tax collectors” In the meantime, they wait for directions to the victim's home, where they collect the proceeds of the crime and return to base at the end of the day or even immediately if a robbery has gone particularly well.

Very often we have asked ourselves whether there are any specialised agencies operating in the area basesti. The lack of evidence in this sense and the fact that the various batteries operate indiscriminately throughout Italy leads to the belief that this specific figure is not part of the organization.

It is, however, likely that the choice of the territory to be "attacked" is preceded by a considerable amount of information gathering work carried out by highly specialized individuals who cross-reference all the personal information available online in databases and social networks.

Particularly interesting is the fact that the “tax collectors” are paid by the day, with a sum equal to 150 euros, regardless of the amount collected.

The two women and the 45-year-old started two lines of investigation apparently separate which led investigators to uncover a considerable number of “tax collectors” and even some switchboard operators.

Many of them, given the legal conditions, ended up in handcuffs, others were reported at liberty.

The two strands continued to run independently until some elements of convergence emerged, among which certainly theCampanian origin of the subjects identified, the identification of switchboard operators common to the two groups as well as the use of the same cars.

This has allowed us to further broaden the investigative framework with the involvement of the Naples Arma who provided excellent cooperation in terms of information and support.

An attempt was then made to further climb the criminal pyramid, reaching the organizers, or rather to the minds of the criminal plan with the feeling of moving, from an investigative point of view, in an environment of organized crime.

It is precisely this further step forward that has allowed us to identify further subjects but above all to discover and in some cases to prevent scams perpetrated throughout Northern Italy, definitely in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, ma anche in Veneto, Lombardia, Piemonte, Emilia Romagna e Brands.

Overall, at the moment, they have been 10 subjects arrested, 29 more reported in a state of freedom, 38 scams discovered e approximately 150.000 euros recovered of proceeds.

THEinvestigative activity it's still now being defined. and it targets the organizers of the criminal system, but in agreement with the Prosecutor's Office it was deemed appropriate to communicate the investigative progress to make citizens aware of the attention that the Institutions place on this disgraceful phenomenon.

- elderly, in fact, often alone, they are easy victims of malicious people ready to exploit their good faith and their vulnerabilities.

Although it is a national phenomenon, in Trieste takes on a particularly significant character, given the demographic composition of the resident population.

The investigations have confirmed the existence of a pyramid-shaped structure which sees at the base the debt collectors, in the center i telephone operators and at the top the organizers.

I telephone operators are located in remote locations (in particular in the Campania area), while the debt collectors operate on-site visit for the hoarding of the proceeds of crime.

Alongside these, there are other figures who deal with the procurement of telephone SIM cards registered fictitiously to unsuspecting people, the rental of vehicles, the receiving of stolen goods, the recruitment of occasional "manpower", etc.

Il Public Prosecutor and Carabinieri They are keen to reiterate the utmost importance of citizens' collaboration to eradicate this phenomenon by immediately reporting any attempted attacks but also by creating a safety net for more vulnerable family members or neighbours..