14.08.2026 10:11
In Eskisehir, 70-year-old M.S. was saved from being scammed thanks to the attention of jeweler Mehmet Baykal while trying to cash in his gold worth 1 million TL, which he had saved for Umrah, at the request of scammers posing as police officers. The scammers, pretending to be the old man's son, even tried to deceive the real police; however, with the efforts of the jeweler and the police, the gold was not handed over.
A 70-year-old citizen living in Eskişehir narrowly escaped being defrauded at the last moment thanks to the jeweler's attentiveness, while trying to cash in gold worth approximately 1 million TL that he had saved for Umrah, at the request of phone scammers posing as police officers. The citizen, who believed the fake police officers who contacted the jeweler and introduced themselves as the old man's sons, had difficulty believing the real police officers who arrived at the scene.
In the incident that occurred on Birlik Street in Çamlıca Neighborhood of Tepebaşı district, 70-year-old M.S., who fell into the trap of phone scammers, narrowly avoided a major victimization. The suspects, posing as police officers and prosecutors, claimed that a legal process had been initiated against M.S. and asked him to convert his jewelry into cash and deliver it to an address they specified. Panicked by the scammers' directions, the old man rushed to a jeweler on the street.
THE JEWELER'S ATTENTIVENESS PREVENTED THE FRAUD
M.S.'s uneasy demeanor and his constant attempts to hide his active phone call when he entered the jewelry store and said he wanted to cash in his gold worth approximately 1 million TL caught the attention of Mehmet Baykal, a jeweler with 15 years of experience. Suspecting something was wrong, Baykal listened in on the phone conversation and realized the old man was in contact with the so-called police. The conscientious tradesman immediately took the gold into safekeeping and notified the police without wasting time. The scammers, when the jeweler contacted them, introduced themselves as the old man's sons.
HE DID NOT BELIEVE THE REAL POLICE
The real police teams, who arrived at the scene in a short time, had difficulty convincing the old man. M.S., who was highly susceptible to the manipulation of the individuals on the phone and believed the scammers were police, even thought the teams in front of him were trying to deceive him. As a result of the intense efforts of the police and the jeweler, M.S. realized he was about to be defrauded, and the teams explained to him that no police officer or prosecutor would ask citizens for money. M.S. took his gold back and returned home.
THE PANIC AND THE HIDDEN PHONE RAISED SUSPICION
Speaking about the incident, Mehmet Baykal, a jeweler with 15 years of experience, said, "A 70-year-old citizen who came to our store today wanted to cash in his gold, worth approximately 1 million TL, which he had saved for Umrah. However, his panicked state and suspicious movements caught our attention. Suspecting that our customer, who was constantly talking on the phone and trying to hide it in his pocket, was being defrauded, we immediately reported the situation to the police teams. While we were calming our citizen down and hosting him in our store, law enforcement officers were quickly dispatched to the scene."
THE SCAMMERS EVEN INTRODUCED THEMSELVES AS THE SON
Mehmet Baykal, stating that when he communicated with the individuals, the scammers introduced themselves as the old man's son, continued as follows:
"It was learned that the scammers, posing as police officers and prosecutors, threatened the old man and his wife, and even seized his wife's phone to prevent them from communicating. It turned out that the suspects, who kept the phone busy, asked for the jewelry, grams, and quarter golds to be cashed in and the money to be left at a specified point. Despite our efforts to block their calls, the scammers even reached out from different and private numbers and continued to introduce themselves as the old man's son. They continued to direct the citizen, who did not even trust the real police. Thanks to our careful monitoring, the 1 million TL Umrah savings were prevented from falling into the hands of the scammers. Authorities and tradesmen, emphasizing that no police officer or prosecutor would demand money or gold from citizens, reminded that especially elderly citizens should be much more careful against such phone scams."