Greek police arrest foreign fraudster in €270,000 telephone scam targeting Ioannina and Metsovo seniors

Police in Greece arrested a foreign national who acted as the "collector" for a criminal organisation that ran telephone fraud schemes in the Ioannina region and the town of Metsovo. The group posed as tax officials or accountants, calling elderly residents and claiming they owed fines for undeclared assets. Victims were persuaded to hand over cash and valuables, amounting to roughly €270,000 in total. The suspect was identified after a multi‑month investigation by the Sub‑department of Crime Investigation in Ioannina and was seized in Athens on July 13. During the arrest, authorities confiscated €1,570 in cash and a gold ring set with stones, and noted that a ban on his entry to the country was already pending. He has been transferred to the Prosecutor's Office of the Ioannina First Instance Court, while investigators continue to map the network and locate additional collaborators.