Italy: two elderly men in Fano and Fossombrone show their gold on video calls from a fake Carabinieri officer, in calls a local outlet says were modified with AI, and an accomplice collects their valuables, reportedly worth a few thousand euros, from each home
CentroPagina reported on 28 September 2026 that on two separate occasions in Fano and Fossombrone (Marche), fraudsters used a video call modified with artificial intelligence, showing a face and the Carabinieri emblem on screen. A 70-year-old man in Fano was told by a caller posing as a Carabinieri officer that his car was involved in a jewellery-shop robbery and that he had to show his gold to clear himself. On the video call he showed his jewellery one piece at a time; while he was kept on the phone, an accomplice came to the door and took gold jewellery and cash, reportedly a few thousand euros. An 80-year-old man in Fossombrone was targeted the same way and lost jewellery worth a few thousand euros; he did not make the two online transfers totalling 15,000 euros that the fraudsters then demanded as bail. The victims alerted the Carabinieri, who are seeking those responsible.
- AI system
- Unidentified video tool
- Occurred
- Event date unknown
- Reported
- 28 September 2026
- Event location
- Italy
- What the AI did
- Communicated with the person
- Reported harm
- Property LossFinancial Loss
- Whose AI use
- Someone else’s AI use
- Setting
- Finance · Everyday life
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
- 4 claims: 4 reported. 4 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 2 people
AI system as recorded: A video call 'modificata con l'intelligenza artificiale' (CentroPagina) showing a fake Carabinieri officer's face in front of the Carabinieri emblem; the tool, and whether the face or only the setting was generated, are not identified
What Happened
CentroPagina (28 September 2026) describes two incidents with identical methods. In Fano, a 70-year-old man answered his landline to a caller posing as a Carabinieri officer, who told him his car appeared to be involved in a robbery at a jewellery shop and that, to clear himself, he had to show all his gold and jewellery. The caller moved him to a video call on his mobile phone, where he saw the caller in front of the official Carabinieri emblem; growing anxious about the supposed legal trouble, he showed each piece of jewellery, and the fake officer said they could be the stolen items. Keeping him on the phone so he could not contact family or neighbours, the caller announced a collector, and minutes later an accomplice came to the door and took the gold jewellery and some cash. The loot was still to be quantified, reportedly a few thousand euros. In Fossombrone an 80-year-old man was targeted the same way, including the fake video with the Carabinieri emblem, and lost jewellery worth a few thousand euros; the fraudsters then told him to authorise two online bank transfers totalling 15,000 euros as bail, which he did not make. The outlet opens by calling it a video call modified with artificial intelligence; it does not say who identified the AI element or describe how the video was made.
Reported harm
Two elderly men lost gold jewellery (and, in Fano, cash), reportedly a few thousand euros each, after a fake officer on a reportedly AI-modified video call persuaded them to show their valuables and an accomplice collected them (CentroPagina).
Outcome
OngoingThe victims alerted the Carabinieri, who are trying to trace those responsible (CentroPagina, 28 September 2026). No arrest, charge or recovery is reported.
What remains unknown
- The dates of the two incidents.
- What exactly was AI-generated (the officer's face, the emblem or both) and how the outlet established it.
- The exact amounts taken.
- Whether the same group carried out both incidents.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. CentroPagina states that the video call was modified with artificial intelligence and that a fake Carabinieri officer appeared with AI in front of the emblem. It does not say who identified the AI element, and no recording, forensic detail or tool is reported. The modified video was the channel through which the fake officer spoke with both men (communicated_with); the AI did not depict the victims.
4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported On two separate occasions in Fano and Fossombrone, fraudsters used a video call modified with artificial intelligence that showed a face and the Carabinieri emblem on the phone screen.
Causal attribution. The outlet's description; it does not attribute the AI element to the Carabinieri or the victims.
- centropagina.it(opens in new tab) supports · Italian
'Videochiamata modificata con l’intelligenza artificiale, la truffa diventa super tecnologica: è quanto successo in due distinte occasioni a Fano e Fossombrone. I malviventi hanno mostrato sullo schermo del telefono un volto e sullo sfondo uno stemma dell’Arma dei carabinieri.'
Reported In Fano, after the 70-year-old showed his jewellery on the video call, an accomplice came to his door and took gold jewellery and cash, reportedly a few thousand euros.
Causal attribution. The video call was the means by which the fake officer persuaded him to show his valuables; the amount is not yet quantified.
- centropagina.it(opens in new tab) supports · Italian
'Sullo schermo del telefono cellulare, l’anziano ha visto l’interlocutore stagliarsi davanti a uno stemma ufficiale dell’Arma dei Carabinieri. Tutto sembrava credibile e la vittima ha iniziato ad agitarsi per l’ipotetico coinvolgimento giudiziario. Così ha mostrato uno per uno i monili d’oro e i preziosi custoditi in casa.'
- centropagina.it(opens in new tab) supports · Italian
'Pochi minuti dopo, alla porta dell’abitazione si è presentato un complice che ha prelevato i monili d’oro e anche del denaro contante. Il bottino è da quantificare ma si parla di qualche migliaia di euro.'
Reported In Fossombrone, an 80-year-old was targeted the same way, lost jewellery worth a few thousand euros, and did not make the two bank transfers totalling 15,000 euros the fraudsters then demanded as bail.
Causal attribution. Reported as the same method; the amount is approximate.
- centropagina.it(opens in new tab) supports · Italian
'Stesse identiche modalità anche nei confronti di un 80enne di Fossombrone. Anche qui il finto video con lo stemma dell’Arma fino alla razzia di gioielli per qualche migliaio di euro. Ma per i truffatori era troppo poco così hanno intimato all’anziano di autorizzare due distinti bonifici bancari online per un valore complessivo di 15.000 euro, come cauzione. Per fortuna non li ha effettuati.'
Reported The victims alerted the Carabinieri, who are trying to trace those responsible.
Causal attribution. Investigation status as reported by the outlet.
- centropagina.it(opens in new tab) supports · Italian
'Scoperte le truffe, le vittime hanno dato l’allarme ai carabinieri, quelli veri che stanno cercando di risalire ai responsabili.'
Sources
1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- CentroPagina, 28 September 2026: Fano, l'intelligenza artificiale per la videochiamata col finto carabiniere: truffa a segno(opens in new tab)
s1 · centropagina.it · News report · Italian · Inspected · 28 September 2026 · Primary
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read live in Italian on 2026-10-01 (CentroPagina, 28 September 2026). Byline Luigi Benelli; no attributed police statement. Researcher translation. Applies to s1.
Event countries: Italy. Affected-person countries: Italy. Court countries: Unknown.
CentroPagina places the incidents in Fano and Fossombrone and describes the victims as a 70-year-old from Fano ('70enne fanese') and an 80-year-old from Fossombrone; both towns are in Italy. The callers' location is unknown.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-01: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter: two elderly men lost jewellery and cash after a fake Carabinieri officer spoke with them through a video call that a local outlet says was modified with AI. One local news report; the victims are private individuals and are not named. The AI element rests on the outlet's description.
People described
Two elderly men: a 70-year-old resident of Fano and an 80-year-old resident of Fossombrone (private individuals, not named)
People reported harmed in this case
2 people
0 AI participants · 2 other people harmed
Two people: a 70-year-old in Fano and an 80-year-old in Fossombrone (CentroPagina). Exact 2.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Italy: two elderly men in Fano and Fossombrone show their gold on video calls from a fake Carabinieri officer, in calls a local outlet says were modified with AI, and an accomplice collects their valuables, reportedly worth a few thousand euros, from each home. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-italy-fano-fossombrone-ai-modified-video-call-fake-carabiniere-gold-theft
BibTeX
@misc{2026_italy_fano_fossombrone_ai_modified_video_call_fake_carabiniere_gold_theft,
title = {Italy: two elderly men in Fano and Fossombrone show their gold on video calls from a fake Carabinieri officer, in calls a local outlet says were modified with AI, and an accomplice collects their valuables, reportedly worth a few thousand euros, from each home},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-italy-fano-fossombrone-ai-modified-video-call-fake-carabiniere-gold-theft}
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