He just wanted a PlayStation 4 and instead he found himself with 2640 euros less in his account and a fake policeman demanding more.

In 2018, a 31-year-old man from Sassari saw the video game console for sale at an attractive price—€220—on subito.it. After receiving the payment details on a Postepay card, he paid the sum, but soon afterward, the seller appeared on WhatsApp demanding more money. Thus, the victim of the scam quickly paid the other party four more installments—€200, €440, and two more—€880.

All this because the other man had presented himself as a traffic police officer, threateningly insisting that unless the victim paid more money, he would report him to the police. The only thing that corroborated his status as a police officer was the profile photo of an officer riding a service motorcycle.

Following a voice message containing further threats , the 31-year-old realized he had been deceived and contacted the (real) police, who began their investigation . Complicated by the phone number of a Pakistani man never registered in Italy and the cell phone used by the defendant's father-in-law, a 44-year-old Neapolitan woman who, in turn, is the registered owner of the Postepay card.

It is on her that the suspicions and charges focus, fraud and extortion, while the relative is held not responsible.

In the first instance, a court in Sassari sentenced her to one year and six months in prison. In recent days, the woman, represented by attorney Elisabetta Sotgia, had her sentence partially overturned on appeal. The panel, presided over by Salvatore Marinaro, with Maura Nardin and Carmela Rita Serra acting as co-chairs, reduced the sentence to six months, finding that the defendant had not committed the crime of extortion, plus a €300 fine.