Avigliano: an 80-year-old woman recognized a scam attempt and immediately called the Carabinieri. The two scammers were arrested.

The Carabinieri's fight against the rampant phenomenon of scams against the elderly, committed throughout the country with increasingly refined and tested techniques, so much so that even the General Command of the Force has promoted a vast information campaign, with the participation of the well-known actor Lino Banfi, to raise awareness among the community about the risks deriving from those who present themselves, by telephone or in person, making financial demands.

And it is also thanks to this awareness-raising work that in Avigliano, in the province of Potenza, an elderly woman who had received a phone call from a self-styled Marshal of the Carabinieri she turned to the real Carabinieri who identified and arrested two 21 year olds of the province of Naples.

Last Tuesday, an 80-year-old woman from Avigliano was contacted by a self-styled Marshal of the Carabinieri whoand envisaged criminal consequences against the nephew if he had not paid the sum of 4.500 euros to unblock a postal package relating to a purchase made by the relative.

The chosen victim, however, she did not let herself be intimidated and alerted the real Carabinieri of the phone call received.
In a very short time, the investigators of the Operations Department of the Provincial Command of Potenza reached the municipality of Avigliano and identified, not far from the woman's home, a car, which was registered to a rental company, on board which there were two people, identified as two 21-year-olds from the province of Naples.

Subsequent investigations carried out by the Carabinieri of the Operational Department and the local Station have allowed us to demonstrate how one of the two, a few minutes before the intervention of the Benemerita men, he had also shown up at the old lady's home as the post office manager in charge of collecting the sum of money. Thanks to the woman's distrust and the arrival of some neighbors, the young man gave up his intent and rejoined his accomplice, both of whom were stopped shortly after by the military.

The two young people, at the end of the ritual formalities, were declared under arrest and transferred, as ordered by the Potenza Judicial Authority, to the Potenza District Prison.

Following the validation, the GIP of the Court of Potenza, who he configured the crime of attempted extortion against the two 21 year olds, he ordered the restrictive measure of arrest with the application of the electronic bracelet, without prejudice to the presumption of innocence until a final conviction.

A story with a happy ending which underlines once again, as recommended several times by the Carabinieri in numerous information campaigns, the importance of immediately using the Emergency Number 112 and to the Carabinieri Stations spread throughout the territory, in the certainty of always being able to count on qualified personnel able to provide assistance and advice tailored to the cases presented.