"Madam, your car was used in a robbery." This was the gist of the phone call a self-styled Carabinieri marshal made Friday evening to an elderly woman from a village in the Marmilla region, from whom he then demanded €41,000 to resolve the situation and avoid trouble. It was all fake, of course. It was an attempted scam that was foiled by the Carabinieri—real ones—from Ghilarza and Mogoro, along with their colleagues from Villacidro and Cagliari. They were ready to intervene and managed to arrest a man and a woman residing in Campania red-handed. They are charged with attempted aggravated extortion. Now the hunt is on for their accomplices. Investigators are convinced: an organized criminal network is behind the fake Carabinieri's scams.

On Friday evening, the woman was contacted and held on the phone to prevent her from receiving further calls. The fake soldier informed her of his possible involvement in the crime and convinced her to prepare approximately €41,000 in cash and other valuables to avoid a search and transfer to the barracks.

"The criminals' pretentious intimidation of the elderly victim," the Carabinieri explain, "aims to instill psychological subjugation and a sense of fear in vulnerable individuals, making them feel guilty of a nonexistent crime and exploiting the Carabinieri's credibility among the public, to induce them to hand over cash or gold jewelry to avoid negative legal consequences."

Truffa del finto carabiniere sventata dai militari dell'Arma 

During the call, the elderly woman was asked for information about her home, in an attempt to locate the street number and entrance. The fake marshal then informed her that his staff would be present at her home and would collect her money and jewelry.

But the Carabinieri, the real ones, were on high alert, having been monitoring this type of scam targeting the elderly for some time. So they swooped in on the two men, a man and a woman, before they could steal the money and valuables the victim had been tricked into preparing for delivery.

The couple was searched: they had a piece of jewelry hidden inside the car, which they were unable to explain and which may have been the subject of a previous similar crime. The investigation continues, looking for their accomplices.

(Unioneonline/E.Fr.)

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