80-year-old pensioner catches four con artists using "You hit a pedestrian" scam in Bucharest
An 80-year-old driver alerted police after identifying a gang of con artists who were defrauding motorists in Bucharest. Three suspects were detained, a fourth is being sought.
Former soldier refused to pay and called police
Gândul reports that a gang of con artists specialising in the "You hit a pedestrian" scam operated at several intersections in the capital, defrauding at least six victims in a matter of days. Only one driver gave them money: 7,000 lei.
Liviu, an 80-year-old pensioner and former soldier, was driving home from the doctor when a woman caught his attention, standing on the edge of a pavement. The man continued on his way without suspecting anything. A few minutes later, accomplices of the woman stopped him and convinced him to return to the supposed accident site.
"She followed me, sent him after me, he came quickly… He says: Sir, you hit a woman at the end of the street with your car…", Liviu recounted.
At the indicated location, the woman was standing and displayed dust marks on her left calf. She claimed that at the moment of impact, she was bent down picking up her phone from the ground and that the device had been destroyed. She demanded a sum of 11,000 lei and threatened to call police if she did not receive the money.
"If you don't give me the money, I'm calling police because you hit me at the pedestrian crossing," the woman told him, according to Liviu's statement.
Staged operation by police
The former soldier realised the story was "sewn together with white thread". He told the con artists he had no money on him and proposed a meeting for the next day. In the meantime, he informed police, who organised a staged operation.
Three individuals were identified and detained for 24 hours. Subsequently, a measure of judicial supervision for 60 days was imposed against them. A fourth suspect remains being sought by investigators.
Images captured by a surveillance camera, cited by observatornews.ro, show the con artists dividing the money received from one of their previous victims.
Modern version of an old scam
The "You hit a pedestrian" method represents a reinterpretation of an older fraud scheme, in which suspects deliberately threw themselves in front of slow-moving vehicles, after which they demanded compensation. In the current version, the supposed victim is no longer involved in any real physical contact with the vehicle — the entire scene is staged after the driver leaves the area, with accomplices intercepting him later.
Out of at least six attempts recorded over several days, the con artists succeeded in obtaining money from only one victim.
Source: Gândul