SAN MARINO – Telephone scams carried out by criminals posing as members of the police force, in particular fake agents of the police, are once again affecting San Marino. Gendarmerie. The alarm was raised by theConsumer Help Desk Associationafter some reports received in recent days.
The phenomenon, which in recent years has tended to intensify especially in the summer period, follows a well-established pattern: scammers contact victims by telephone telling them of alleged accidents or dangerous situations involving family members, creating anxiety and a strong sense of urgency.
According to what was reported by the Consumer Help Desk, the criminals try to gain people’s trust by also providing correct personal information on the family members involved, such as telephone number or car license plate, to make the story more credible.
In some cases, after verifying that the person is alone at home, accomplices come into action and show up at the home under the pretext of recovering money or valuables linked to alleged expenses or reimbursements.
“Some people who have suffered these scams, which occurred in recent days, have turned to the Consumer Help Desk Association for assistance,” the association communicates.
The Consumer Help Desk therefore invites citizens to be extremely cautious and reminds us of some simple rules of conduct: “if you receive phone calls with these characteristics, stop them immediately, contact the family member mentioned and immediately contact the police to report the fact”.
These are, the association underlines, “particularly hateful and deplorable attempts, which target the most fragile people, often leveraging their feelings of affection towards those closest to them”.
The alarm also concerns another type of fraudulent phone calls, apparently coming from your telephone provider. In these cases, personal information and sensitive data are requested through automated systems, including those relating to credit cards.
“Even in these cases it is necessary to close the phone call and report it to the police”, recommends the Consumer Help Desk, reminding citizens “to never provide their personal data and payment methods to anyone over the phone”.
The association hopes that greater attention from the population can help stop these episodes and allow the authorities to identify those responsible.
