A 50-year-old woman in the northern Greek city of Serres was arrested in at least 56 cases of defrauding people to extract money, posing as a worker for the Financial Crimes Prosecution (SDOE) agency or a lawyer.

She was not identified, but Kathimerini said she had taken 127,167 euros ($150,765) over four years but police didn't explain how she was able to get away with it during that time.

She was reportedly apprehended only because of a 68-year-old collaborator whose details were identified and put in a case file as police were said to be looking further into how the ruse operated.

The suspect was taken into custody after having just collected 1,000 euros ($1186) from another woman, as a fee to issue her a certificate. It wasn't said why people willingly handed over money.