Police in Kavala, northeastern Greece, were yesterday seeking an alleged fraudster believed to have swindled hundreds of euros from the parents of foreign kindergarten pupils in a pre-Christmas scam.

The unidentified man acquired the parents’ telephone numbers by calling the kindergarten and pretending to be a municipal official, police said. The suspect then contacted parents, telling them that the municipality wanted to offer the children 1,700 euros’ worth of books as a Christmas gift but that each family had to pay a 250-euro refundable deposit.

The alleged fraudster, who used fake documents to persuade his victims, is believed to have amassed a large sum, though it is unclear how many parents fell for the scam.

Parents alerted police after failing to hear from the suspect after making their cash deposit.