Elderly Man Scammed of 350 Euros in Cleverly Executed Fraud

Caught at sixty, he lost sixty. Money, money, for 350 euros. He had just left the Milan branch of Crédit Agricole in viale Giovanni da Cermenate, Roberto M., 85 years old, probably “baptized” at that very moment by the fraudster he thought anew from the withdrawal, the best victim in the meantime getting back to the Toyota C-Hr his From here he started, last March, smart device, with the cheater being tucked away in a blue Fiat Panda, ready to strike. And of course «boom», Roberto hears a sound, «like a lump on the body as I turned in through Pezzotti, but I didn’t think I hit another car, so I continued to the newsagent to buy the newspaper.” The stranger immediately joins him, carrying, shouting, accusing him of ending it, showing him the back part of the Panda: “Which is really damaged…”. It was already. And that sound? “I think he rolled down the window and hit my side, which was higher.”

The script of the fake disaster is well thought out and executed by supportersbecause the devil is in the details, like the presence on Panda of wife and two children, a “family picture” that makes that man, “Italian with a Southern accent”, first and foremost a father, a husband. Kind of frustrated because, maybe, he’s in a hurry to get his kids to school so he can’t get lost in reasoning, let alone a friendly attitude. And the victim lowers his guard. To make an old Milanese take the bait completely, «but despite my age I consider myself wise, I still play bridge and golf», I some blue marks (same color as the Panda) on the front bumper of his Toyota: “Who knows how they made them, when… But I was very stupid, the next day I filed a complaint for fraud, and if I now show myself on the Messenger he wants to raise awareness among citizensbecause these people are skilled and yes aggressive ways that cause anxiety and confusion”.

We were talking about supporters, a jump in quality compared to the most well-known but similar (in terms of dynamics) “mirror mirror”. In this case, the a new actorthe one who convinces the victim to put his wallet in his hand immediately, because that is the most convenient an automated traffic policeman who answers the scammer’s call on speakerphone. Mr. Roberto remembers his words well: “We don’t have time to go out, make an agreement among yourselvesotherwise whoever caused the damage risks a fine of 490 euros and the removal of 6 points from the driving license”. tactics. But here it is, the input, the negotiable economic threshold.

Even the old man, who loves bridge, tries to play a “card” to surprise the prosecutor with a small family spectator. «I suggest he go to my body shop to assess the damage. Obviously, lo and behold, he will answer that your trusted workshop is closer, in via Lusitania. We reach him, but in my car, because he has to “just show the pictures” of the ruined part. Only he enters, in the body that does not really exist, but I found out the next day, and when he comes out he is even more angry: “To repair the car you need 700 euros. So what do we do? I have no more time to waste.” As I take it back to the Panda, I give him everything I have in my wallet: 350 euros». Finish. Of course there is still room for one last cup, which is a humiliation, the disclosure of the scam: « The man retrieves an anti-Covid mask and cleans the blue color from my butt, and then he leaves while the woman is on the Panda with the children again to bring him back. I investigate the hypothetical “failure” area better, there was no scratch.”