Filenews 4 February 2022 - by Dora Christodoulou
A fraud case involving a 73-year-old victim is being investigated by the Police in Paphos, reiterating on this occasion the appeal to citizens to be careful to avoid such fraud.
The case was reported at noon today by the 73-year-old. According to the complainant, around the morning, while she was at her home in Paphos, she received a call from an unknown man, who introduced himself to her as a hospital manager. The stranger told her that a relative of hers had been injured in a traffic collision and that there was an urgent need to undergo surgery. For this purpose, supposedly to cover some medical expenses, the stranger told the 73-year-old that she needed the immediate payment of €38,000.
The complainant believed the stranger, but told him that she had only €10,000, an amount that the unknown man accepted. The 73-year-old withdrew this amount from her bank account and went to a specific spot in Paphos, which was indicated to her by the stranger, to deliver the money. There she was approached by an unknown man, to whom she handed over the money. The stranger is described as sturdy, of medium stature, with black short hair, about 35 years old.
According to the Police, in fact, in the previous days at the ICF of Pafos, three more complaints were received from female residents of Paphos, that they received similar phone calls from an unknown person. In these cases, however, the complainants were not convinced by the stranger and did not give any amount of money.
On the occasion of the above incidents, the Police call on the public to be particularly careful and in case they receive a similar type of phone call, not to trust the strangers and to inform the Police.
It is also appealed to the public, if they become aware of any such or similar incident, to contact immediately the nearest Police Station or the Citizen's Hotline, at the telephone number 1460.
