The Sub-Directorate for Crime Investigation of Northeast Attica has dismantled a criminal organization that was defrauding citizens by posing as electricity company employees. Members of the ring convinced victims to gather cash and jewelry, which they then stole from their homes, accumulating illegal profits exceeding €130,000.
Two members of the organization, aged 31 and 26, were arrested on the afternoon of July 8th by officers from the Marathon Crime Investigation Unit. Two additional suspects have been identified and are currently being sought.
Caught in the act
The operation was launched following a tip-off about an ongoing phone scam targeting a woman. Officers rushed to her home and arrested both suspects in the act of removing a large quantity of jewelry from the property.
The pair have been charged with forming and participating in a criminal organization, aggravated theft, professional and repeated fraud, and money laundering.
How the scam ring operated
A months-long investigation revealed that since at least April 2026, the suspects had organized their activities using a well-defined methodology.
They primarily targeted elderly victims identified through phone directories, contacting them while posing as electricity company employees. Using various pretexts — such as a supposed electrical leak or risk of a short circuit — they persuaded victims to gather their cash and jewelry.
Victims were then instructed either to place the valuables in a specific spot inside the house and move to another room, or to leave them outside the property while keeping the front door open. The perpetrators would then enter or approach the home and remove the valuables without being detected.
Evasion tactics used by the ring
To make themselves harder to trace, the suspects used a large number of phone lines registered under third parties’ names, and chose taxis as their operational vehicles. During the thefts, they wore hats and surgical masks to conceal their identities.
To date, eight cases of fraud and theft across various areas of Attica have been solved, with the ring’s illegal profits estimated at over €130,000. The two arrested suspects have been brought before the competent prosecutor.
