Zagreb police have arrested one of three fraudsters, allegedly all citizens of North Macedonia, who in an extremely shameless manner, pretending to be doctors, took 40,000 euros from an 87-year-old woman from Zagreb.
A 25-year-old national of North Macedonia has been arrested, while the other collaborators, also Macedonian nationals, whose identities are currently unknown, are still being sought. Police are charging them with a criminal offense of fraud committed with the aim of obtaining unlawful property benefit.
“They called the 87-year-old woman on December 22, 2025. The male fraudster falsely presented himself as a doctor, stating that her daughter was in hospital and that she urgently needed surgery due to a broken leg.
The operation costs EUR 50 thousand– the fake doctor told the Zagreb pensioner, who replied that she had EUR 40 thousand and asked to at least talk to her daughter on the phone.
She is currently unable to speak – the fraudster replied to the victim, continuing to put pressure on her about paying for the alleged operation.
Then, the next morning, the 87-year-old woman was called again by phone, only this time the fraudster pretended to be the victim’s daughter and assured her about the accident, the fracture, the operation…
It didn’t take long before the fraudster convinced the pensioner to prepare the money, that is, the EUR 40,000 she had, in a bag and that a trusted person would pick it up soon.
A little later, the 25-year-old citizen of North Macedonia arrived in a taxi at the address of the victim in the Dubrava area, who actually handed over the money to her, that is, EUR 40,000. The Zagreb police handed over the suspect to a detention supervisor and filed criminal charges,” reads the Zagreb police report.
