Four persons, three of whom are minors, are investigated for involvement in at least six cases of swindle with the “relative involved in accident” scheme. During only a month, the suspects extorted in Chisinau sums that exceeded 1 million lei, IPN reports.

The General Police Inspectorate said the last case was committed in Botanica district of Chisinau on October 30. The suspects phoned a woman aged 70 and told her that her granddaughter became involved in a road accident and she should provide 200,000 lei for paying damages to the victim so that her granddaughter could be released. This way, the woman transmitted the sum to one of the suspects.

The swindlers are three minors aged 16 and 17 from Balti municipality and a young man aged 33 from Gagauzia. They posed as employees of the law enforcement agencies and contacted persons informing them that close relatives of theirs caused a road accident in which a person was hurt and asked for money for the relatives not to be held accountable. The extorted sums varied between €3,000 and €20,000.

The man was remanded in custody for 20 days, while the minors were not. They face four to eight years in jail. The investigations go on to identify other accomplices.

The police warn the citizens to be prudent and to inform the relatives about this scam. One should call the 112 Service if they become victims or know something about such cases.