National Police dismantle "son in distress" scam in the Canary Islands that affected an elderly woman

The National Police have arrested in the capital of Tenerife one of the members of a **group that allegedly travels around scamming elderly people** using the "son in distress" method.
A police statement reports that the investigation began last November following a complaint filed by an elderly woman who stated she had been the victim of this type of scam.
According to the complainant's account, an unknown person contacted her, **pretending to be her son and informing her that he had changed his phone number** because the previous one was broken, and that he was in an urgent situation and needed money.
He also informed her that his supposed manager would contact her shortly.
Subsequently, another man called her, identifying himself as her son's manager, and arranged for the delivery of **an envelope containing 42,000 euros**, which was collected by a third person.
Later, the scammers contacted the victim again, telling her she needed to send more money via bank transfers and at ATMs, and the total amount of these transactions made by the woman reached **34,750 euros**.
In the following days, the complainant continued to be harassed by phone by the perpetrator, who now demanded valuables, which the victim handed over, totaling half a kilo of jewelry valued at 100,000 euros.
After this, the scammer tried to get her to hand over more money, and it was **bank staff who at this point alerted the woman that she might be the victim of a scam** due to the number of unusual transactions they observed in her accounts.
The investigators, aware that in the days following the filing of the complaint, the victim had agreed to make another delivery of money, set up a surveillance operation in front of her home, which culminated in the **arrest of an 18-year-old male** who had arrived on the island that same morning with the sole objective of collecting the money that the interlocutor who normally spoke with the victim had arranged, in order to return to the mainland hours later.
The detainee was placed at the disposal of the competent judicial authority, who ordered his **release with charges**, and the agents' investigation continues with the aim of completely dismantling this criminal group dedicated to scamming elderly people through this scheme.