A member of one of Greece's prominent shipowning families has been defrauded of nearly €1 million after sophisticated scammers posing as power company technicians convinced her that her valuables would trigger an electrical explosion — and that she had to throw them out of her house immediately.
The heist turned on a chilling coincidence.
The unnamed woman had visited her energy provider's local branch to dispute a €1,000 bill, with staff promising a follow-up call. Within hours of returning home, her phone rang — callers claiming to represent the state power network, armed with just enough detail from her earlier visit to sound entirely credible.
What followed was a meticulously engineered panic.
"They told me, 'We are calling to help you settle the bill.' That is where I fell for it," she later told police.
"He kept me on the phone for a long time and told me there would be an explosion. He said I had to take out of the house whatever I had in money, jewellery and gold, otherwise there would be a blast."
Terrified and convinced the precious metals posed a lethal hazard, she complied — placing a fortune in cash and jewellery outside her front door, where accomplices were waiting to collect it.
Greek authorities are investigating what amounts to one of the most lucrative utility-scam variants to hit the country in recent years — a case that has exposed a ruthless criminal network preying on fear, trust and split-second timing.