Fraudsters target elderly citizens in Bulgaria and Greece

Criminal groups are increasingly targeting elderly individuals through sophisticated telephone and investment scams in Bulgaria and Greece.

In Bulgaria, a 64-year-old woman from Smolyanovtsi was defrauded of 45,000 euros. Perpetrators posing as police officers, specifically an “Inspector Kirilov,” convinced her to withdraw the funds and hide them in a jacket near waste containers in Craiova, Romania. Meanwhile, in Dobrich, prosecutors successfully recovered over 13,900 euros for an 81-year-old victim of a similar scheme involving fake police officers and international money mules.

In Greece, several incidents have been reported. In Serres, a 71-year-old woman lost 1,600 euros and jewelry worth 8,000 euros after scammers posing as police officers instructed her to leave the items at a specific location. Authorities arrested a 70-year-old Greek man and a 70-year-old Bulgarian national in connection with this and other scams. In Lamia, a 60-year-old woman lost nearly 30,000 euros to a cryptocurrency investment scam where fraudsters used remote access software to manipulate her accounts.