Thieves took 4,766 gold sovereigns and jewellery from an 88-year-old woman in Thessaloniki after phone callers posing as city staff persuaded her to bag her valuables, in a haul worth nearly €3.8 million.
The case ranks among the largest phone scams on record in Greece. Wrapped in aluminium foil, the gold sovereigns sat in a plastic bag in her hallway beside jewellery worth about €10,000.
Throughout, the woman stayed shut in her bedroom with the front door open. When she came out at around 9:30pm on 13 October, the bag had gone and someone had shut the door.
How the gold sovereigns disappeared
Initially, the calls came from an unknown number. A woman said she worked for the City of Thessaloniki.
She warned of a risk of explosion or fire because of works by the Public Power Corporation (PPC). To keep safe, the pensioner had to unplug her appliances and gather her valuables in a bag.
The caller also reassured her that her son knew about the danger. He would come by to collect the bag, she said.
After that, a man aged about 35 to 40 took over the call. He told her to go into the bedroom and shut the door.
However, the front door stayed open. An accomplice could then walk in and take the bag of gold sovereigns unseen.
Later, on the morning of 14 October, the same man rang her twice from the same number. He said he wanted to check that she was all right.
A constant headache for police
The scammers played on the woman’s fear. By invoking the city and the power company, they got her to clear the way for the theft herself.
As a result, the case puts phone fraud back in the spotlight as a persistent problem for the Hellenic Police.
Despite repeated warnings, fraudsters still find ways to catch older people off guard. They exploit both their fear and their trust.
So far, police have not reported any arrests in the case.
On 13 October, Greek City Times reported on a separate gang accused of targeting children and the elderly by phone.
Gold coins remain a common store of wealth in Greece. Households privately hold some €5 billion in them, Greek City Times reported in December 2025.
Because of this, gold sovereigns remain a frequent target for thieves.
Source: Kathimerini
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