This scam is comical: phone call to the wrong person

It couldn't have been worse for the two scammers originally from Ukraine, who, not knowing who was on the other end of the phone, attempted to dupe Carabinieri commanding general Teo Luzi. A blatant misstep that cost them the inevitable lawsuit. Recounting the regrettable episode to Dagospia was the commander himself who, in this way, wanted to warn the many people, especially the elderly, who are increasingly the subject of attempted scams in Italy.

The Fact:

The two thugs are mother and son, ages 45 and 21, and they texted Commander Luzi's cell phone pretending to be the daughter and saying they were using a friend's cell phone because they were in an emergency. "They wanted to convince me to make an instant transfer of 4,900 euros. I realized it was a scam because I called my daughter on another cell phone." At that point the carabinieri officer sprung the trap. After calling his colleagues, he managed to keep the scammers on chat for about two hours, making them believe that he would make the transfer once he got home. As soon as law enforcement identified where the crooks were chatting from, Luzi triggered the complaint. Mother and son had started the scam from their home in Genoa.

The investigation:

In the house, the military found a number of computers, many cell phones, with numerous sim cards, plus 25 thousand euros in cash, most likely the fruit of previous scams. Once the Carabinieri alerted by Commander Luzi intercepted the cell phone from which the messages originated, checks were made by the Genoa military, led by Colonel Michele Lastella. Apparently, law enforcement had already been on the trail of the crooks for some time, who had pulled off quite a number of hits with impunity.

That's it. Always be careful who is on the other end of the phone because they aren't always honest people. The automatic system of sending messages to random people to scam them cost the scammers dearly this time.

Bicci