Scammer arrested on Rhodes for defrauding elderly victims

A 25-year-old Bulgarian national was arrested on the Dodecanese island of Rhodes on Saturday for his involvement in a scam to defraud senior citizens. Police said the case involved at least another three suspects who are still at large.

According to the investigation, the suspects would phone up elderly people in various parts of the island saying they were a friend of one of their relatives. They would then tell their victims that their relatives were in police custody because they caused a road accident, and that they needed money to avoid being sent to prison.

The money was collected by one of the suspects posing either as a police officer or a court official. Police said the suspects phoned 22 elderly people and managed to defraud four of them.