A phone fraud syndicate responsible for at least 34 scams netting nearly 700,000 euros has been dismantled by the Piraeus Crime Prosecution Sub-Directorate, police said, after the gang unknowingly targeted the wife of a police officer and exposed the entire operation.
A 30-year-old Bulgarian national, identified by investigators as the ring's money mule, was arrested as he arrived by taxi to collect cash extorted from the officer's wife.
The syndicate relied on a coordinated two-call scheme.
One accomplice phoned a victim's landline posing as a financial crimes detective, instructing them to cooperate with an incoming call to help "catch criminals."
Simultaneously, a second accomplice called the victim's mobile phone posing as a doctor demanding 300,000 euros for emergency surgery on a relative.
One elderly victim told investigators she was coerced into placing silverware, watches and jewelry into a bag and leaving it by a cemetery trash bin for collection.
Authorities said the arrested courier traveled regularly to Bulgaria to smuggle stolen cash and valuables across the border after each successful operation. He was intercepted mid-call with his handler at the moment of arrest.
The investigation remains active as police work to identify and locate the remaining members of the syndicate.
The case is the latest in a wave of phone-based extortion scams targeting elderly Greeks that police have flagged with growing concern in recent years, often exploiting fear for a family member's safety to bypass victims' usual caution.
Katia Niakari