Police get Interpol help in fake doctor scam

Cyprus police are working with Interpol to dismantle an international ring scamming older people pretending to be doctors attending to a loved one.

Following the arrest of a Larnaca couple, aged 65 and 66, the police widened its search with the help of the international policing authority to Bulgaria and Romania.

The elderly suspects were arrested for allegedly acting as the ring’s collectors on the island.

Reportedly, they told authorities that they travelled on several occasions to deliver money to associates of the ringleader, who goes by the codename ‘Valentinos’.

Police are looking into calls from four mobile phones found in a safe at the elderly couple’s home.

Several foreign SIM cards were also recovered from their Larnaca home.

In the safe, officers found €16,000 in cash, nine gold coins and jewellery belonging to a 79-year-old woman who had fallen victim to the gang last week.

The suspects allegedly scammed four elderly women in Larnaca out of more than €100,000.

So far, they have been linked to the case of the 79-year-old woman, and efforts are being made to identify evidence for the others as well.

Identification lineups will be held in the coming days, and the complainants will be asked to identify the suspects.

A financial investigation will also be conducted against the couple to establish whether they acquired assets after May 16, when the ring’s action in Larnaca began.

Investigators were led to the two suspects, who have no criminal record, after evaluating information provided by citizens and video from closed-circuit surveillance.

Police have warned the public to be wary of callers claiming to be doctors, demanding money to save the life of a loved one.