Phone scam gang linked to €1.6 million fraud targeting elderly in Greece, police say

Authorities said the group, described as a “family enterprise” with members linked by blood ties, operated a call centre in the Roma-majority suburb of Zefyri, which was raided on Wednesday.

Seven suspects, including two alleged ringleaders and five phone operators, were arrested and face charges of participation in a criminal organisation and aggravated fraud, police said.

Investigators said the suspects targeted vulnerable elderly people using details from old telephone directories and called them under false identities, including as accountants or utility workers.

Victims were reportedly told their cash and valuables needed to be declared to tax authorities or that home electrical issues required urgent inspections. In both scenarios, they were persuaded to leave money and jewellery outside their homes, where accomplices collected them.

Police said the call centre was equipped with security cameras and metal shutters, and officers seized phones and 13 pages of annotated landline directories during the raid.

Authorities said the group had been active since at least March 2026, and such scams remain widespread despite repeated public warnings and arrests.

Source:Kathimerini