Scammer on the move stealing money from pensioners

AN unidentified man is lurking about Cyprus with a partner trying to scam pensioners for hundreds of euros.

A 79-year-old from Limassol coughed up €300 yesterday after a scammer convinced him a relative of his owed him insurance money.

A 77-year-old man and an 81-year-old woman from two different villages in Larnaca were both also told by the scammer that a relative of theirs owed him €360.

Luckily, neither was convinced and they tried calling their perspective relatives to confirm the story when the scammer shut their phone and made a run for it by getting in a car driven by a man on standby outside.

The culprit  is described as being about 1.80 metres tall by the Larnaca pensioners and 1.75 metres by the Limassolian. He is described as “stocky” with short hair. The driver is described as thin.

Police urge the public to be cautious. Anyone with information about the incidents can get in touch with their nearest police station or else call 1460 for the police communication line.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.