Italian municipalities launch anti‑scam drives as fraud targeting seniors spreads

In Massafra, the mayor Giancarla Zaccaro and social services head Francesco Cacciapiglia organised two public meetings with the Carabinieri and local police to teach residents, especially the elderly, how to recognise telephone, online and door‑to‑door scams. The sessions highlighted common tricks such as impostors posing as carabiniere, lawyers or utility technicians.

Montefredane’s mayor Ciro Aquino warned citizens after reports of callers pretending to be the local Carabinieri commander and demanding money to help supposed relatives. He urged seniors to interrupt suspicious calls, verify with family and contact police.

In Rogeno, two scammers pretended to be water‑utility workers and a municipal officer, using fireworks to simulate an emergency and stealing from an elderly couple. Carabinieri and local police investigated but have not yet identified the perpetrators.

Bologna’s city hall issued an alert about SMS phishing messages that mimic traffic‑fine notices and link to a fake "comunebologna.online" site. Officials reminded people that public authorities never request payment via SMS or unsecured links. Across the towns, authorities advise not to share personal data, not to open doors to strangers, to verify requests through official channels and to report suspected scams to 112.