When a text message arrives on Eugenia Serra's cell phone, 72-year-old disabled pensioner from Capoterra, the music of a Celentano song fills the room. " Emotion has no voice ," sings "the springy one": a powerful emotion for the elderly widow when she learned she had to confirm or cancel a €4,790 bank transfer to a stranger.
The phone call
It was April 1st, I had just withdrawn my pension, and in my account there was only the monthly INPS check, €599. I was scared. I followed the instructions in the message, I called a person with a continental accent, kind, helpful, even patient as he explained to me what I needed to do to avoid this withdrawal of money I didn't even have. Click here, click there... He even asked me if I had another bank account. But no way: I live off my pension check. After a few hours, I checked my Poste Pay and discovered that on the other end of the line was not a diligent banker, but a scammer.
Despair
This isn't the usual story of an elderly woman scammed using a fake text message: Eugenia Serra is alone, sick, and left without a cent on the very first day of the month. "I'm desperate. I filed a complaint with the police, detailing every detail of what turned out to be the worst April Fools' Day prank. I already know I'll never get that money back, but now I have a different emergency: how can I cope?"
In her house in Capoterra, the TV is always on for company, and in the drawer is everything she has to pay each month: "There's the water bill, €73," Eugenia Serra lists, "the electricity bill, €68, and above all the loan payment for the car my daughter wrecked, €203 a month, which I'll finish paying in March 2029. The Tari (waste tax)? I'm already behind. The only luxury I allow myself is the gas cylinder to heat the house: I'll do without it this month, let's at least hope winter is over."
The aid
It's hard to count on the city's help: her husband, Albino, died of cancer seven years ago. He was a bricklayer and left her two apartments, the ones her two sons, aged 36 and 39, now live in. They're unemployed and make ends meet with odd jobs. Her 34-year-old daughter has been away for some time. "According to the tax authorities, I have three houses. But what do I eat? Doors and windows? My son's friends are helping me; someone kindheartedly bought me groceries for Easter. I'm worried I won't be able to pay the mortgage: will they take this house away from me too?"
In a terrible moment, her thoughts were still with others: "I wanted to share my misadventure to shame these unfortunate scammers and to warn everyone: don't trust anyone, don't do as I did, who—naive and gullible—was left without even a cent and a dove for Easter."