Udine: the fight against the hateful phenomenon of scams against the elderly continues. A 19-year-old was arrested and a minor was reported.

On the evening of Thursday, September 19, personnel of the State Police serving in the Flying Squad of the Udine Police Headquarters arrested for aggravated fraud against an elderly person a 19 year old Italian citizen from Udine, resident in another region.

In the late morning, the officers had begun a surveillance operation on two young men who were moving suspiciously around the city, following directions received over the phone and using a GPS, moving through various streets in the center. Shortly after midday, one of the two entered a building on Via Del Pioppo, from which he emerged a few minutes later, while the second one drove away in a taxi.

The police officers, after seeing him take off the jacket he was wearing, which he had left behind a parked car in order to prevent any possible recognition, they blocked him and identified him, finding him in possession of 1100 euros, for which he did not provide any valid justification, since he was, moreover, without a job and income.

The subsequent judicial police activity allowed them to identify the person who had been defrauded by the 19-year-old boy, an 89-year-old resident, previously contacted on a landline by a self-styled “Marshal” and convinced that he had to hand over all the money he had to whoever showed up at his house, in order to "free" his wife, who had been responsible for a serious accident and was about to be taken to prison.

The man, when filing the complaint, he confirmed that he had fallen into the trap, described the young man and reported that he had given him exactly 1100 Euros, savings kept at home, in banknotes and denominations that corresponded exactly to those found in the boy's possession, who was therefore arrested for aggravated fraud and associated in the evening to the local prison.

In the meantime, other agents managed to reconstruct the movements of the other boy who, in the late afternoon, once he realized that his friend had been stopped, always on board another taxi, moved towards the Treviso train station. In perfect synergy, there the agents of the Flying Squad of the Treviso Police Headquarters, alerted by those of Udine, they managed to stop the second young man too, minor, also resident in another region and without any legitimate source of income, finding him in possession of 500 euros and lots of gold jewelry.

In this case too, the Udine police managed toidentify the victim of yet another scam, an 87 year old woman from Udine living in via Molin Nuovo, who, always convinced with the same trick on the phone, had in fact given the young man 500 euros and all the gold later recovered in Treviso. The minor was referred to the Judicial Authority competent for the same crime and for possession of false documents, having shown the police a false identity card.

The judicial police activities carried out in the following hours allowed to attribute to the same minor another fraud perpetrated in this case to the detriment of an 84-year-old resident of Trieste on the day of September 18th. Together with the agents of the Flying Squad of the Trieste Police Headquarters, the Udine investigators ascertained that on that day the minor managed to get the woman to hand him over, victim of the same telephone scam as the fatal accident, this time caused by her daughter, many precious jewels, weighing several kilos, so much so as to force the young man to ask for a bag to collect them: the same bag was then found the next day by the police inside the hotel room in Udine where the two criminals stayed before committing the other crimes. The minor, whose somatic features have been well described by the old lady, he was therefore reported to the Judicial Authority also for this further fact.

Il money recovered in Udine was immediately returned to its owner, the one recovered in Treviso, together with the jewels, will be brought back to the lady in the next few days.

On Monday, when validating the arrest, the GIP ordered the adult to be held in prison for precautionary custody.

On this occasion, the State Police recommends everyone, especially the elderly who live alone, to follow these few but very useful tips/recommendations.

• If they call you on the phone saying that a relative of yours needs money to avoid being arrested or for medical care stop communication, it's a scam! And if you want to call the relative who is in difficulty, do so with another telephone or cell phone, different from the one on which you received the suspicious call, because scammers are able to "keep busy" the telephone line, not allowing you to find the line or allowing you only to speak with another of their accomplices.
• Don't open the door to strangers and don't let them into your home, even if they wear uniforms or declare that they are employees of public utility companies. If in doubt, do not hesitate to contact the Single Emergency Number 112 and ask for assistance.
• Don't give money to strangers who claim to be agents, officials of public or private bodies, lawyers: remember that no body, and certainly not the police force, sends personnel to your home to pay bills or fines, to make refunds or replace counterfeit banknotes. Do not put money and jewelry in the refrigerator or other place indicated by the alleged agents: they are not carrying out any disinfestation and there is no danger! Instead, call the State Police immediately!
• Keep a directory of utility numbers next to your phone, to have on hand in case of need or checks. And in any case never call, in case of suspicion, numbers provided by the stranger at the door or on the phone to get reassurance: on the other end of the phone there will always be an accomplice of the criminal!
• A piece of advice also for the younger ones and the neighbors of elderly people: don't leave old people alone, take an interest in their daily life, remind them to call you for any doubts or needs, or if they receive visits from strangers, and do not hesitate to call the State Police to report any anomalous or suspicious circumstances involving your elderly neighbor.