• In France, two men have been taken into custody for allegedly scamming elderly individuals.
• The scammers targeted their victims by claiming to provide pest control services.
• The victims, mostly women over 90 years old, amounted to 48 people in total.

In France, two men have been taken into custody for allegedly scamming elderly individuals by convincing them to pay thousands of euros for unnecessary bedbug treatments. The scammers targeted their victims by claiming to provide pest control services, overcharging them for treatment products. The victims, mostly women over 90 years old, amounted to 48 people in total. The country has seen an increase in bedbug infestations recently, prompting government officials to address the issue.

The scammers would contact their targets, informing them of a supposed infestation in their neighborhood. Upon visiting the victims’ homes, they posed as health officials and pretended to conduct fake fumigation using aerosol sprays. Before leaving, they sold a supposed bug-repelling ointment, which turned out to be a simple eucalyptus-scented cream. The victims were charged varying amounts, ranging from €300 to €2,100 (£257 to £1,800).

Law enforcement received nine formal complaints of suspected fraud, leading to the surveillance and subsequent arrest of the suspects as they left the home of one of the alleged victims in Strasbourg. The growing bedbug problem in Paris has raised concerns about its potential spread to London.

Speaking to PoliticsJOE in October, London mayor Sadiq Khan said the threat to the capital’s public transport system was a “real source of concern”.

He said he had been in contact with counterparts in Paris as well as officials at Transport For London to “ensure we don’t have that problem.”

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