Police: 13 measures against telephone fraud – 6,399 cases in 7 months
The Ministry of Citizen Protection and the police are advancing 13 measures against telephone fraud, with gang revenues of 6–7 million euros in the first half of 2026.
Police and Ministry of Citizen Protection with 13 measures against the fraud "industry"
A National Fraud Response Centre operating 24 hours a day, a money-flow suspension protocol within 30 minutes, and a national incident database: these are the central points of the plan revealed by In.gr concerning the 13 measures being developed by the Ministry of Citizen Protection and the police following successive meetings chaired by Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis.
Record of incidents in the first seven months of 2026
The initiative is moving in an atmosphere of urgency: in just the first seven months of 2026, 6,399 cases of fraud were recorded across the country, whereas the total for 2025 came to 7,982 incidents. The increase is estimated at 60%, a phenomenon attributed, according to police analysis, to the impunity of perpetrators. Gang revenues are approaching 6 to 7 million euros for the first months of 2026 alone.
42.9% of cases concern fraud in which perpetrators approach the victim by impersonating employees of the Public Power Corporation, accountants, tax officials, police officers, bank employees or lawyers. At the same time, fraud via deceptive electronic messages from courier companies, public services and banks is increasing by 33%, aiming at stealing access codes. Fraud via buying and selling goods is declining, whilst classical methods of the "traffic accident" and "hospitalisation" of a relative are now down to 1%.
The 13 measures of the plan
According to the detailed police plan presented by In.gr, the strategic objective is to make it "extremely difficult for the fraudster to communicate with the victim, even more difficult to obtain the money and almost impossible to make it disappear". Fraud is being tackled as a chain that must be broken in real time, from the call and SMS through to the transfer of funds and money laundering.
1. National Fraud Response Centre (EKAA): A permanent inter-agency operational centre operating 24/7, with participation from the police, banks, telecommunications providers and the tax authority. It will not function as an independent police service.
2. National anti-fraud database: Each IBAN reported as suspicious will be automatically identified if it appears in different cities, triggering an alert system.
3. FRAUD-30 Protocol: A joint emergency protocol aimed at completing all necessary steps to block funds within 30 minutes of a report.
4. National Fraud Alert: An alert system on a nationwide scale connecting all banks.
5. Joint police–banks programme: Identification of suspicious accounts from day one, with parallel initiation of financial and criminal investigation.
6. Smart delay of high-risk transactions: Automatic suspension of suspicious transfers, to allow time for verification.
7. Greek "App Fraud" victim protection model: Applies to cases where a citizen is deceived by someone impersonating a police officer, bank employee or relative and approves the payment themselves. A legislative study is proposed for a loss-sharing system with a special investigation by the Bank of Greece before compensation limits are set.
8. Tackling Caller ID Spoofing: A national system for authenticating the caller's identity following the French model. Numbers that cannot be verified will either not be displayed or the call will be blocked depending on the level of risk.
9. Registry of certified SMS Sender IDs: Creation of a national registry of senders by the telecoms regulator with enhanced checks on mass messaging.
10. Upgrade of 11188: Conversion of the Cybercrimes Prosecution line into a continuous fraud recording system at nationwide level.
11. Rapid removal of fake websites: A process for identifying and immediately removing phishing pages, fake investment platforms and site spoofs, so they do not remain active for days collecting new victims.
12. Specialist team for investment fraud: A specialised unit for identifying and determining fraud involving falsified digital content or fake investment proposals.
13. Voluntary enhanced protection from banks: Banks will be able to offer customers who wish it a lower daily withdrawal limit, a delay on large payments to a new account and a registry of certified SMS senders. The measure will not be automatically imposed on the basis of age, but can be actively promoted to older people who request it.
Legislative provisions under examination
In parallel, legislative provisions are being examined for converting telephone fraud into a separate offence, as well as a citizen notification system via SMS. In.gr reports that some of the above measures are at the operational planning stage and have not yet been officially announced.
Source: In.gr