Voula: 50-year-old arrested over 200,000-euro fraud

A 50-year-old man was arrested by officers of the Southeastern Attica Crime Suppression and Investigation Sub-Directorate for defrauding a 71-year-old woman in Voula. According to the Greek Police announcement, the arrested man, together with accomplices still being sought, contacted the elderly woman by phone and posed as employees of an electricity supply company.

Using the pretext that there was an immediate danger from an electrical power leak, they convinced her to gather the cash and valuables in the house, place them in a bag and wrap them in aluminium foil, supposedly to protect them from the current. They then took the items. The total estimated value of the haul comes to 200,000 euros, an amount that makes the case one of the most serious of its kind recorded this year in the southern suburbs.

The 50-year-old was identified with the assistance of the Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni Crime Suppression and Investigation Department. In such cases, identification is usually based on a combination of evidence from security cameras, call records and descriptions from the victims, since the perpetrators avoid physical contact with witnesses and act within a short timeframe. The “power leak” scenario has appeared repeatedly in cases in Attica in recent years.

Searches carried out on the man and at residences turned up valuables, numerous prepaid phone line packages, mobile phones and a precision electronic scale. The vehicle used was also seized, and it carried fake plates. Prepaid line packages are typically used for a single attempt and then discarded, so that different cases cannot be linked to one another through the calling number.

The case file drawn up concerns fraud, aggravated theft and forgery, and also includes the accomplices being sought. According to police, the arrested man had previously come to the attention of authorities for similar offences, and he was brought before the prosecutor. The presumption of innocence applies until a final court ruling is issued.

The same day, Greek Police warned of a new, more sophisticated form of telephone fraud, involving fake calls purportedly from Traffic Police offering a 50% discount on fines. Authorities advise citizens never to give personal or banking details over the phone, never to hand over cash or valuables to strangers, and to contact 100 immediately in the event of any suspicious incident.

Telephone fraud against elderly people remains among the most widespread crimes in Attica, with perpetrators cycling through scenarios, from relatives’ traffic accidents to fake technical inspections. Related incidents have also been recorded elsewhere, such as the arrest of a 49-year-old for extortion in Palaio Faliro. More on the Southern Suburbs page.