Most common forms of conventional fraud
–Fraud by approaching the victim on behalf of a relative (mainly targeting elderly people)
The perpetrators mainly choose elderly people, about whom they obtain by any means the identity details of both the victims themselves and of their loved ones, usually their children or grandchildren.
They approach them “supposedly” as envoys of their relatives and, under the pretext of an immediate and urgent need for money, seek to extract large sums from them. The approach usually takes place as the victims leave or just before they enter their homes, outside banks or shops, and so on.
The techniques the perpetrators use to persuade elderly people to hand over money on behalf of their relatives are surprise and the presentation of a plausible financial need that must be met without delay. In this way, and by referring to relatives with particular familiarity, they seek to win trust and leave no room for second thoughts. In many cases, to strengthen their arguments, the perpetrators pretend to telephone the relatives to confirm the financial need, but in their distress the elderly victims do not realise that they are talking to the perpetrators’ accomplices and not to their relatives.
The reasons the perpetrators give for obtaining money are usually the settlement of a debt, the payment of insurance policies, the purchase of electrical appliances, car parts and so on, on behalf of “supposed” relatives.
It should be noted that it is often claimed that the relative is entitled to a refund of a large sum of money from social insurance funds, and that certain fees must be paid in order to receive it, with the perpetrators presenting themselves as the “accountants” of the relatives, who have taken charge of the procedural matters for receiving this money.
The sums the perpetrators ask for range from a few hundred to several thousand euros, amounts that vary and are adjusted according to the receptiveness and credulity of the elderly victims. By way of example, in the past perpetrators have even driven elderly people to banks so that they could withdraw large sums and hand them over.
-Fraud under the pretext of a road traffic accident
The perpetrators make unexpected telephone calls to their targets (mainly in the morning and afternoon hours), pretending at times to be hospital doctors and at others lawyers or police officers, and falsely claiming that a close relative of theirs (usually their child) has caused a road traffic accident through their own fault, resulting in the fatal or very serious injury of, usually, a minor.
In order to avoid the imprisonment of their relative and spare them the impending criminal consequences, they demand the payment of substantial sums of money, the amount of which varies, being adjusted in each case according to the receptiveness and credulity of the victims.
To be more convincing, other accomplices cut into the telephone conversation, depending on the gender of the relative, impersonating them, begging for help and putting unbearable psychological pressure on the victims.
Then, once the victims have been convinced, they either turn up at their homes to collect the money, or arrange to meet at a place and time of the perpetrators’ choosing, near the victims’ home.
It should be noted that in road traffic accidents the police authorities always follow the lawful and prescribed procedures, under the guidance of the local Public Prosecutor’s offices, and these procedures are in no case waived upon the payment of sums of money.
–Fraud by claiming a relative is in hospital
The perpetrators make unexpected telephone calls to potential victims and, exploiting the distress this causes, announce that a close relative has been rushed to hospital following a road traffic accident or for some other emergency reason, and demand money so that a medical procedure, usually an operation, can be carried out immediately.
They also ask the potential victims to go immediately to a specific location, where a hospital employee, for example a nurse or an employee of EKAB (the National Emergency Care Centre), is “waiting” to collect the money and pass it to the doctors as quickly as possible.
The victims usually use the same telephone on which they received the call to ring the mobile phone of their relative, who is “supposedly” being treated in a critical condition.
In their confusion they do not realise that the “line” is still open to the perpetrators, who did not end the previous call.
The perpetrators pretend to answer the victims’ call and “confirm” the bad news, posing, for example, as a stretcher-bearer holding the patient’s mobile phone.
–ATM distraction fraud (usually targeting elderly people)
The perpetrators approach a person while they are making a transaction at an ATM and, without being noticed, visually steal the PIN as it is being typed, and then wait for the transaction to be completed.
As the card comes out of the ATM, one of the perpetrators drops a banknote at the victim’s feet and urges them to pick it up, on the pretext that it fell out of their pocket.
The perpetrators take advantage of the time the victim is occupied with the fallen banknote to remove their card from the ATM’s card slot, placing a different one in its place.
After the victim leaves, having failed to notice that the card has been switched, the perpetrators empty the account.
-Fraud under the pretext of selling jewellery and other items or devices
The perpetrators look for victims to whom they can sell various items of jewellery and other goods (e.g. electrical goods, mobile phones) at low prices, approaching them either in the street or at their own homes.
After haggling over the price for a long time, they finally settle on a genuinely low price, which the victim also wants, and sell them the goods. But once the perpetrators have gone, the victim realises that what they bought is of negligible value and that they have been defrauded.
In cases involving the sale of electronic devices (mainly mobile phones), it has been found that, after receiving payment for the agreed sale, the perpetrators skilfully manage to swap the device being sold for another, fake one of identical appearance, without the victim noticing the “switch”.
Cases have also been observed in which the perpetrators approach victims, mainly elderly ones, and negotiate the sale of an electrical appliance of particularly high value at a bargain price, which they supposedly have in the car or van parked outside the victim’s home. The victims are persuaded and pay the price without having seen the item for sale, and the fraudsters leave on the pretext that they are going to bring it to the house, without ever actually returning.
–Fraud under the pretext of subscriptions
This consists of the perpetrators issuing subscription packages for a charitable foundation or various associations (e.g. for disabled or blind people, etc.) and exploiting the sensitivity that citizens show towards such matters, with the result that they contribute financially to these supposed initiatives.
It should be noted that such cases (fundraising collections, ticket sales, etc.) must comply with current legislation and, as a result, receipt books must be duly stamped. In any other case, it is obviously a matter of fraud.
–Fraud targeting clergy, by means of a supposed disbursement of aid from IKA (the Social Insurance Institute) or the settlement of various financial and insurance matters.
The perpetrators select their potential victims (priests, clerics, monks) and, usually by telephone, inform them that a disbursement of aid from IKA to the place of worship they represent (church, Holy Monastery, etc.) is pending.
In other cases, the perpetrators contact retired clergy and tell them that all the necessary steps have been taken for the disbursement of the lump sum due in their name.
In order to secure the disbursement of the aforementioned sums, they ask the victims to pay a sum of money into an account they specify, so that the disbursement procedures can begin.
The victims are persuaded and pay the amount requested, awaiting payment of the benefit.
At this point the perpetrators disappear and cut off all communication with their victims.
-Fraud under the pretext of mediating the disbursement of a loan from a credit institution
In this case the perpetrators present themselves as prominent citizens or bank associates who, exploiting personal acquaintances at credit institutions, can mediate the disbursement of a loan, bypassing the TEIRESIAS credit-rating system.
In order to start the loan disbursement procedures, the perpetrators ask their victims to pay a sum of money to cover the costs.
From the moment the victim deposits the agreed sum into the bank account they are given, the perpetrator gradually begins to avoid contact with the victim, until they disappear altogether.
It has been observed that the perpetrators usually attract their potential victims by placing advertisements in local newspapers or through mutual acquaintances who have themselves fallen victim before realising it.
–Fraud under the pretext of safeguarding bank deposits
The perpetrators contact the victims mainly by telephone and, pretending either to be bank managers or to have “connections”, persuade them that they can safeguard their bank deposits from an impending “haircut”.
To this end, they ask them to deposit their money into a specific account so that they can then take all the necessary steps to protect it.
They then disappear.
-Fraud under the pretext of securing employment
In this case, the perpetrators exploit the existing economic crisis and the resulting interest of some citizens in finding work, placing advertisements on the internet or in the press in which they usually present themselves as intermediaries between the person concerned and a supposed employer, based either in Greece or abroad, who is looking for workers.
This is achieved either by setting up a fake employment agency or by posting advertisements on the internet.
Those who respond, contacting the advertiser by e-mail and/or telephone, are asked for personal details and for the payment of a substantial sum (either through money transfer companies or directly into bank accounts) to cover certain expenses, such as the cost of consular visas, payments to lawyers, intermediaries and so on.
Those who pay money in advance subsequently realise that they have been victims of fraud.
Where those concerned have gone in person to the fake employment agencies, the above actions are also accompanied by the signing of a supposed private agreement between the parties.
–Fraud under the pretext of selling gold sovereigns
This is a method that began to appear in Greece because of the economic crisis and the fear of an impending Greek bankruptcy.
Specifically, citizens fearing bankruptcy in Greece and a return to the drachma look for ways to protect their bank deposits.
The perpetrators exploit this, showing them gold sovereigns and persuading them to exchange their money for them. In reality, the perpetrators show them two or three gold sovereigns, along with a pouch that supposedly contains the rest. The victims are persuaded, hand over the agreed sum and, as soon as they open the pouch, find that it contains low-value coins (20-cent, 50-cent pieces) and the like. But the perpetrators have already disappeared.
The exchange of euros for counterfeit gold sovereigns has also been recorded, the victims realising at a later date that they are not genuine.
-Fraud using special chemicals to “decolourise” supposedly genuine banknotes
In this case the perpetrators convince the victims that, using special chemicals, they can make blank sheets of paper of the same size as banknotes appear as genuine euro notes of various denominations, and in this way double or even triple their initial capital.
To this end the perpetrators give a demonstration to their potential victims, actually decolourising some banknotes.
The victims are persuaded, hand over the agreed sum and receive a significant quantity of blank sheets of paper, convinced that with the use of the aforementioned special chemicals these will be turned into genuine notes.
After the transaction the perpetrators disappear and the victims realise that the blank sheets they were given are simply blank paper and, of course, do not turn into euro banknotes.
-Fraud targeting professional drivers (taxi owner-drivers)
The perpetrators, presenting themselves to professional drivers as ambassadors, consuls or diplomats of some country, use specific arguments to persuade them that they wish to hire the taxi for a considerable period (usually three months), with a high daily payment, usually over €300.
To seal the arrangement, they ask the victims to pay a substantial sum into a bank account (around €1,800) as a guarantee of their future cooperation, which they tell them will be returned at a later date.
Once the victims have deposited the money, the perpetrators disappear.
-Fraud through vehicle sales and purchases
The perpetrators use two different methods (modus operandi), described as follows:
a) The perpetrators pose as prospective vehicle buyers
through the internet, they search for and find online advertisements for the sale of vehicles of every type, with the aim of defrauding their owners,
after contacting the vehicle owners, they agree on the purchase and the price of the transaction,
they then show the seller either a non-existent account number, in which a false electronic transfer of the transaction price into their account appears, or forged confirmations of money transfers to that account,
the vehicle sellers are misled and persuaded and, without having checked whether the money transfer is genuine, submit solemn declarations for the transfer of the vehicle, which the perpetrators use to transfer the vehicle into their own name,
the perpetrators, now in possession of the vehicle, disappear without paying the corresponding price and usually resell the vehicle immediately.
b) The perpetrators pose as vehicle sellers
they post online advertisements for the sale of non-existent vehicles of every type, with the aim of defrauding prospective buyers. In many cases they offer the vehicles for sale at tempting prices,
the prospective buyers contact them and, in most cases without having seen the vehicle for sale, are convinced of the supposed seller’s reliability and agree to buy it,
they then pay the agreed price as an advance payment into a credit institution account specified by the perpetrators. In some cases, when the vehicle to be purchased is in a remote area, they are persuaded to pay for its transport as well,
once the money has been paid into the account they specified, the perpetrators cut off all communication with the prospective buyer and directly withdraw the sum deposited at the credit institution.
It is stressed that the perpetrators avoid meeting the victims in person, seeking solely to communicate with them by telephone, through various telephone connections, or through third parties, in order to minimise the risk of being identified and arrested.
-Fraud through apartment rentals
The perpetrators manage to gain access to keys to apartments that are for rent and place an advertisement in a newspaper offering the apartment for rent.
They then arrange appointments with prospective tenants at locations chosen by them and, if the latter are interested in renting the apartment, take an advance payment so that they can then take the necessary steps to let it (drawing up the lease, etc.).
After that the perpetrators disappear and do not answer the victims’ telephone calls.
It has also been found that the perpetrators pose as prospective tenants to owners of apartments who live opposite the apartments for rent and, using the distraction method, one of the perpetrators enters the owner’s home, the door of which has been left unlocked, and steals cash and valuables.
-Fraud under the pretext of a fault in prepaid card machines
The perpetrators telephone owners or employees of small shops (e.g. mini-markets, kiosks, etc.) and tell them that they are technical staff of the company that supplies the prepaid card machine and that their machine has a technical problem.
They then claim that, in order to resolve the problem, the shop must print a certain number of prepaid cards (usually 3-4 cards worth €100.00) and give them the PIN numbers. The potential victims are persuaded and give the PIN numbers, and the call ends with the perpetrators telling them that the problem will be fixed shortly.
After that, they cease all communication with the victims.
A similar method involves the perpetrators appearing in person at these shops and asking for a prepaid card to be issued, while at the same time buying other items of negligible value. They then say that they no longer wish to buy the prepaid card and leave, having fraudulently obtained (e.g. by photographing it with a mobile phone) the PIN of the card that has already been printed.
The shop owners or employees realise they have been defrauded only after the perpetrator has had time to get away.
–Fraud involving the sale of properties or vehicles repossessed by a bank at a bargain price
The perpetrators usually pose as lawyers for banks that are about to auction repossessed properties and cars. Using forged documents and usually on the pretext that they themselves control the conduct of the auctions, they convince victims that they can mediate in the award of the auctioned item at a very low price, and thus extract large sums of money.
It has been observed that members of these criminal groups, in order to appear more credible, rent luxury apartments and expensive cars so that they can present them as being intended for disposal by the banks.
It is characteristic that the perpetrators “fish” for prospective victims even among the circle of acquaintances of other people they have already defrauded, before those people realise the fraud.
Whenever a citizen encounters such behaviour, or people approaching them or someone in their circle with the intention of defrauding them, and also if they have been tricked out of a sum of money, it is advisable to inform the police authorities immediately and report the incident accordingly. They can contact the Security Department of their area, while for immediate police intervention they can contact the Emergency Response service (Amesi Drasi) by calling the three-digit number 100, or even by sending a free text message (SMS) to the same number.