Ten attempted telephone scams targeting elderly people were thwarted between the Baiano area and Monteforte Irpino, according to IrpiniaNews.
The caller contacted the victims by telephone and presented himself as a member of the police or another law-enforcement body, according to IrpiniaNews, OttoPagine and Punto Magazine. During the calls he asked for cash or gold jewelry.
The ten elderly people recognized the attempt as fraud and alerted the Carabinieri, according to OttoPagine. Punto Magazine reports that local prevention and awareness activities helped the victims identify the false caller and notify the Carabinieri.
Following the reports, the Carabinieri Company of Baiano increased surveillance in the affected areas and opened investigations, according to OttoPagine. The identity of the caller has not been reported, and it is not known whether the ten attempts came from one person or an organized group.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi publicly praised the Carabinieri’s prevention and awareness work, according to IrpiniaNews.
The Carabinieri advise anyone receiving such a call to end the conversation, verify the situation directly with the relative concerned, and report the contact to 112 or the nearest Carabinieri station, according to OttoPagine and Punto Magazine. The reports do not state whether any money or valuables were handed over; the ten attempts are described as thwarted.
