NEWS

Transplant scam warning

Police in Athens have called on citizens to be wary of telephone calls from fraudsters posing as hospital employees and warning that their relatives are in danger in order to secure cash payments for bogus transplants. A recent call to a Kathimerini reporter, from a man claiming to be an employee at the Asclepieio Hospital in Voula, is one of an increasing number of attempts by would-be fraudsters to coerce cash out of unsuspecting citizens, police said. The Kathimerini reporter was told that his brother was in serious condition in the hospital and that 6,000 euros was needed as a down payment to arrange a heart transplant. The reporter realized that the call was bogus after contacting his brother and determining that he was safe and well. But in some cases, when the relatives are not immediately contactable, people have reportedly fallen for the scam and paid the requested deposit. Police are calling on anyone who receives a suspect telephone call, ostensibly from a hospital, to contact them.

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