Authorities have uncovered a fraud case that took place on Monday morning (February 24) in a village in Xanthi, targeting an elderly local resident.

A Greek national was arrested at midday the same day on charges of fraud, while a case file has been filed against two of his accomplices, who are still being sought.

How the Scam Worked

A yet-to-be-identified perpetrator called the elderly victim, pretending to be a doctor. He falsely claimed that a relative of the victim had been injured and urgently needed surgery. To make the deception more convincing, a female accomplice joined the call, posing as the distressed relative. The elderly man, convinced by the urgent plea, handed over €2,500 and four gold sovereigns to a local accomplice of the fraudsters.

Following the victim’s report, an investigation was launched by the Topiros Police Department. Officers managed to track down and arrest the Greek perpetrator, who had driven to the village in a private vehicle to collect the money and gold coins from the victim.

The authorities recovered the stolen gold sovereigns and a portion of the money, which were seized and returned to the elderly victim.

The arrested individual will be brought before the Prosecutor of the Xanthi Court of First Instance. Meanwhile, the Topiros Police Department continues investigations to identify the unknown accomplices and determine whether they have been involved in similar criminal activities.