Residents in Torre Annunziata have been targeted by a telephone scam in which callers pose as Carabinieri and use a fabricated robbery to try to obtain gold and valuables from their homes.
The episode was reported by Metropolis Web, which describes a familiar but effective script: an alarming call, a supposed police emergency, and a request to hand over valuables for inspection.
A robbery that never happened
According to the report, the callers claim that a robbery has occurred nearby and that a vehicle connected to the victim's family was involved.
That invented link is the lever for everything that follows. Once the victim is worried about a relative or about becoming entangled in a criminal investigation, the caller presents himself as a Carabiniere and takes control of the conversation.
The report also notes that caller-ID manipulation can make the incoming call appear to come from a local Carabinieri station, making the impersonation more convincing on the telephone display.
Gold and valuables for a supposed check
The next step is the request for valuables. The impersonators ask victims to gather gold, jewellery and other valuables for a supposed police check.
After the items have been prepared, an accomplice is sent to collect them directly at the victim's home.
The Carabinieri state that this request is itself the proof of fraud: officers and representatives of the judicial authority do not ask for money or jewellery to prevent an arrest or to resolve an investigation.
A pattern seen around the Bay of Naples
The Torre Annunziata report describes the alert and the method used, but does not establish how many completed thefts occurred locally or the amount of any loss in Torre Annunziata. It also does not provide the identities of the callers or any confirmed arrests or charges.
The same robbery-and-car story has appeared in nearby cases reported independently:
In Torre del Greco, a separate Metropolis report describes two elderly victims targeted within approximately one hour at Parco Giusy. In one of those cases, the fraudsters allegedly sent the victim's husband away from the house under the pretext of a robbery linked to his car, isolating his wife before obtaining cash and gold.
In Sorrento, Il Mattino describes an investigation in which a fake marshal claimed that the victim's car had been used in a jewellery-shop robbery. That case allegedly ended with the handover of 5,500 euros and approximately 80 grams of gold jewellery.
The available reports do not establish whether the Torre Annunziata calls are directly connected to the Torre del Greco and Sorrento cases. Taken together, however, they show the same structure repeated in different towns: an urgent call, a car supposedly involved in a robbery, and valuables collected at the door.
What to do if you receive such a call
The Carabinieri describe the recurring method as an alarming telephone call, followed by a request for money or valuables and the arrival of a collector at the victim's home.
Their advice is direct: interrupt the conversation, do not hand over valuables, avoid opening the door to strangers, and call 112.
Three points are worth keeping in mind:
- A real investigation is never resolved by handing gold or cash to someone who comes to your house.
- A number shown on the telephone display is not proof that the caller is speaking from a police station.
- Ending the call quickly removes the pressure the caller is trying to create. A subsequent call to 112 allows the episode to be checked and reported.
