French police have arrested two men for allegedly tricking elderly people into paying large sums for bedbug treatments they did not need.
The two men, operating in eastern France, phoned their victims to tell them there had been a bedbug infestation in their neighbourhood, authorities said.
At least 48 people were scammed with victims, many of them women over 90, charged between €300 and €2,100 (£350 and £1,800), according to the AFP news agency.
Preying on widespread fears of bedbugs that gripped France this autumn, the pair gained access to their target’s homes by posing as health officials and then sprayed an aerosol, pretending it would protect the space against bedbugs.
The pair are also said to have handed out an eucalyptus-scented cream pretending it was an ointment that would keep the bugs away from human skin.
Police investigating the scam said they received nine formal complaints for suspected fraud.
The suspects were put under surveillance and police arrested them as they were leaving the home of their latest victim in Strasbourg.
Health experts have warned that the outbreak of begbugs in France has led to a rise in false sightings and unwarranted hysteria.
Bedbug infestations in Paris have also led to fears the problem could 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".
The fears have since largely died down.
