Greek police bust telephone‑scam ring targeting elderly in Florina and western Greece

Greek police have dismantled a telephone‑scam network that preyed on elderly residents in western Greece and the city of Florina. The ring used callers posing as accountants, doctors or police officers, claiming that victims needed to hand over cash, jewelry or valuables for "recording" via satellite. Victims were forced to surrender gold jewelry and money worth up to €120,000.

Arrests include a 60‑year‑old collector caught in Aigio after stealing jewelry valued at €100,000 from a woman in Messologgi, and two 19‑ and 20‑year‑old suspects detained in Florina who tried to flee on a twin‑cylinder motorcycle, discarding a bag of gold jewelry worth about €5,000. Police seized additional jewelry, three mobile phones and two vehicles, and continue to search for other members of the criminal organization, which is believed to have carried out at least six fraud incidents in the past two weeks across the regions of Achaea, Pieria and Florina.