Woman, 49, arrested over bogus church lottery
A 49-year-old woman was arrested on Monday in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, on charges of extorting money out of the elderly by posing as a representative of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.
Police said the suspect would visit the homes of old people and fool them into believing they had won a church lottery.
She would then tell them they had to give her valuables to prove their loyalty to the Church.
Police said the woman, who had allegedly scammed more than 55,000 euros in cash and valuables out of her victims, was arrested after trying to defraud a 69-year-old man in the city’s Kalamaria district.
She was expected to face a prosecutor later in the day.
