From non-existent refunds to fake summonses to the police station, scams never take a break

From fake PayPal refunds and offers of lucrative investments to phone calls ordering people to report to the police station. Scammers never take a break, and, particularly at this time of year, scams targeting the elderly and vulnerable are on the rise again.

For some time now, emails have been arriving in inboxes that appear to have been sent by PayPal. The subject line refers to a refund entitlement arising from a review of transactions made. The email suggests following a procedure that will result in the return of sums that can exceed even a thousand euros. Unfortunately, however, the link does not lead to any official website but to other sites where you are asked to enter personal details. On closer inspection, it also becomes clear that the email does not originate from the official domain. It also happens that the same email is sent to people who have not made any payments in the last year.

Then there is a WhatsApp message sent from a number with the prefix +212, stating that the courier attempted to deliver a parcel the day before but no one was at home. It then invites you to arrange a new delivery or to collect the parcel – which you never ordered – from the nearest collection point. The procedure to follow is not the standard courier process; instead, it asks you to reply with an ‘S’ to the request and then to update the message. In some cases, you are also asked to pay a sum of money to release the delivery. Fake text messages then continue to arrive, claiming there have been suspicious transactions on your account in Romania and urging you to call the numbers provided in the messages or click on the links.

However, there is no shortage of attempts at physical fraud. The latest was reported by the Rieti Financial Police as part of their efforts to combat fraud targeting the elderly and vulnerable people. ‘At this very moment, several residents of the Province of Rieti are receiving telephone calls from a number matching that of this Provincial Command’s switchboard,’ the Guardia di Finanza stated in a press release, ‘with requests, made by individuals posing as members of the Guardia di Finanza, in some cases to come to the Corps’ offices, and in others asking about any weapons or valuables kept in the home, which would then be physically inspected by other members of the gang.”

According to the Financial Police’s investigation, the aim is to leave homes unattended by luring residents to the police station under false pretences, thereby allowing thieves to operate undisturbed. The advice is therefore to ‘ignore these summonses, immediately call the public emergency number 117 and alert your relatives’.