Lisbon, Aug. 28, 2026 (Lusa) - In the first half of 2026, scams involving «staged accidents» caused cumulative losses of €72,540 to victims, close to the total figure for 2025 (€77,480), the National Republican Guard (GNR) said on Friday.

In a statement, the GNR warned of the «increasing sophistication» of staged road traffic accidents, noting that one case involved losses amounting to €15,450.

The scale of the losses reveals «a substantial worsening», the GNR emphasised, driven by the use of new methods of extortion and direct access to the victims' bank cards and PINs.

The GNR predicts that the overall financial impact in 2026 «will far exceed» that of last year.

Between January and June, the GNR recorded 30 reports of this phenomenon, representing a 15.4% increase over the 26 cases reported in the same period in 2025.

The district of Faro leads the statistics for 2026 with six incidents, followed by Lisbon, Porto, Viseu and Beja.

In this type of crime, the suspects stage non-existent collisions to demand immediate payments and gain access to the victims' bank accounts.

«The deliberate targeting of drivers aged over 60 is a key strategy employed by the fraudsters,» emphasised the GNR.

«The suspects exploit emotional vulnerability, fear of legal complications and a lack of familiarity with electronic payment methods, targeting a demographic that typically has greater immediate financial resources,» added the GNR.

VQ/ADB // ADB.

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