A program of increased patrols has been developed and implemented over the past 24 hours in Attica due to the exodus of thousands of holidaymakers. These are the ideal conditions for burglars and scammers, who take advantage of the mass departure of vacationers during the Christmas and New Year holidays to carry out large-scale raids. However, there has also been a sharp increase in scammer incidents, as fraudsters exploit the money that elderly people withdraw from ATMs for the holidays, using various pretexts to try to steal it from them.
Patrols everywhere
Dozens of police officers from various units have already begun conducting patrols in neighborhoods throughout central Athens and other areas of Attica, following a program developed for each municipality. Burglary incidents increase dramatically every year during the holiday periods, with criminals first conducting exploratory “walks” to see who is away, selecting their targets, and then making their move at the right moment.
Special emphasis is naturally placed on shopping centers and areas where citizens gather for shopping, such as Ermou Street, Monastiraki, Kifissia, Chalandri, Glyfada, and other areas of the Athens basin. Police officers patrol not only in uniform but also in plain clothes, to avoid drawing attention and to be able to “blend in” with the crowd. Additionally, according to the developed plan, there are continuous patrols at bank branches. Many criminal gangs position themselves near bank ATMs and watch who makes withdrawals, then follow these people and attack them once they reach an isolated location.
Greek police warn about scammers
Despite successful crackdowns on scammer gangs who defraud citizens either by phone or in person using various pretexts, their activities continue unabated. Especially during the holiday season, knowing that elderly people have made cash withdrawals to buy gifts for their children and grandchildren, scammers intensify their efforts. For this reason, the Greek police created a video warning mainly elderly people not to answer calls from unknown numbers and, of course, not to believe anyone who tells them there is a gas or electricity leak, and especially not to believe those who tell them they need to remove jewelry from their homes to avoid… electrocution.
