File photo: A power transmission tower in Greece in 2023. Photo: Nikolaos Kyriakakis, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Police Arrest Six Over Fake DEDDIE Worker Scam

by · Greek City Times

Greek police have arrested six people over a DEDDIE scam that stole cash and jewellery after callers posed as power-network staff across West Attica homes.

The Organised Crime Directorate ended the DEDDIE scam on the afternoon of Thursday 5 November 2026. Officers from the Financial Crime Subdivision, with special operations teams, found the gang’s call centre during a West Attica raid.

Investigators said they solved 24 fraud and theft cases, completed or attempted. As a result, they put the illegal gain at more than €565,000.

Police arrested five suspects inside the call centre. In addition, officers detained a sixth person in the same building, where they found the stolen goods.

Read more: Grid Operator Targets 75,000 Hidden Electricity Meters With Power Cuts

How the DEDDIE scam worked

According to the police account, the ring had operated at least since July 2026. Members took distinct roles as managers, telephone operators and collectors, and guards for the loot.

Callers picked numbers at random from directories and websites. Then they posed as staff of the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator, known in Greece as DEDDIE.

They told victims of an alleged electricity leak or technical fault. After that, they urged them to gather cash and valuables and leave them in places with free access inside or outside the home.

Other members later collected the items. However, the gang often moved the call centre and changed the phone lines and numbers it used, police said.

Seized cash and jewellery

In searches of two homes, officers seized €4,100 in cash and 12 mobile phones linked to the DEDDIE scam. They also took 28 gold sovereigns, 60 bracelets, 118 earrings, 63 watches, 29 rings, 47 chains, four crosses and a hunting shotgun.

Additionally, they found nine torn telephone-directory sheets with citizens’ addresses and handwritten notes. Officers took the six suspects to the competent prosecutor after the West Attica raid.

Greek City Times earlier reported that phone scammers had targeted children and the elderly. Separately, it covered how Greece has dismantled 262 criminal organisations in two years.

DEDDIE operates the country’s power distribution grid and publishes consumer advice on its official site. The Hellenic Police led the West Attica operation that shut down the DEDDIE scam.

Source: AMNA

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