Elderly Icelander Loses $780,000 to Scammers; Special Forces Called In

An elderly Icelandic man, in his eighties, has lost 108 million Icelandic króna (approximately $780,000 USD) to a sophisticated scam operation. The victim, whose identity is protected, was initially approached with the prospect of a date with an older woman. However, upon meeting, he was accosted by a younger man who began issuing threats, demanding money under duress.

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He was offered to go on a date with, he thought, an older woman. When he showed up, he was grabbed by a young man who started threatening him with all sorts of evil if he didn't pay.

According to Jón Þorsteinn Sigurðsson, a friend of the victim who shared the story on Facebook and spoke with mbl.is, the man, ashamed of his actions, began paying the scammers. Over a period of 14 months, the fraudsters exploited his good nature, fabricating stories about needing funds for a poor widow's child's baptism, medical expenses for another individual, and hospital stays in Sweden. The victim's shame and fear intensified as the demands continued.

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Instead of reacting by not wanting to pay, he is afraid of this and thinks he has done something wrong and starts paying.

The situation escalated when the scammers began visiting the man's home regularly. They threatened him with a knife, entered his apartment without permission, and ransacked his belongings. During one such intrusion, they took his phone, used a payment app called Aur to withdraw between 800,000 and 1 million króna, and stole cash, a wallet, and a watch. Later, he received an SMS message offering the return of his watch for a 100,000 króna payment.

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He is so ashamed of having allowed himself to look for a companion that he just pays for fourteen months.

Eventually, the victim's siblings noticed something was amiss and contacted the police. The special forces unit was called to the scene. The victim's brother assisted in gathering information, and they were directed to the police station. Despite providing details, the victim was told he would be summoned for questioning, after which there was a period of silence from the authorities. The friend, Jón, accompanied the victim to a meeting with the police, but they encountered hostility and were denied entry as a support person, despite Jón's experience in such roles.

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The demands then took various forms, appealing to the man's kindness. He was asked to help a poor widow to baptize her child, pay medical expenses for another person, and lend money for hospital treatment in Sweden which was said to be very expensive.