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Greek minister: Phone scams targeting elderly people to become a felony
🇬🇷 Greece /Elections & Politics

Greek minister: Phone scams targeting elderly people to become a felony

From Ta Nea · () Greek

Translated from Greek and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources New plan
  • Greek Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis said telephone and digital scams targeting older people have become a serious, near-daily threat.
  • He said the government has begun procedures to make such offenses felonies and is organizing a specialized center within the Organized Crime Division to combat fraud.

Telephone scams aimed at elderly people have become an “epidemic,” Greek Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis said in a television and radio interview. He described cases as occurring almost every day, often in the dozens, through both telephone calls and digital channels.

Chrysochoidis said authorities held a meeting on Monday, Sept. 1, with relevant agencies, including representatives of banks and the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator, known as DEDDIE. Scammers frequently use such institutions and services when trying to persuade older people to hand over money, according to the minister.

Epidemic

— Michalis ChrysochoidisThe Greek citizen protection minister used the term to describe the frequency of scams targeting elderly people.

The minister said procedures have already begun to make fraud against elderly people a felony. He called for tougher legislation and particularly severe treatment for people who deceive older citizens and take their property.

He also announced the creation of what he called a Greek FBI center within the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime. The unit will focus exclusively on fraud cases, he said.

Let us begin cooperation, first of all, to toughen the legislation. These should become felony offenses, with particularly aggravating treatment for those who deceive and mislead elderly people and take their property. We have organized a Greek FBI center within the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, which will deal only with fraud.

— Michalis ChrysochoidisHe outlined proposed legal changes and a specialized anti-fraud unit during his interview.
About this summary

Originally published by Ta Nea in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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