Fraudsters deceive Perm mother with fake award for deceased son
A 55-year-old woman from Kharagay nearly lost one million rubles to fraudsters after being manipulated for days.
In Perm Krai, fraudsters attempted to extort one million rubles (approximately $10,000 at current rates) from a 55-year-old woman whose son died in the special military operation. Her friend tried to reason with her, but she did not listen and went to an ATM. Then the friend called the police, and an operations officer arrived at the scene. He spent an hour persuading the frightened mother not to transfer money to anyone.
The victim expressed gratitude to police for preventing the fraudulent transfer of funds.
A resident of Kharagay (in Perm Krai, Russia) herself recounted how she almost fell victim to the deceivers. She received a call from someone claiming to be an employee of the Perm military commissariat.
«Since my son participated in the special military operation and died, I was not surprised by this call,» the victim said. «They informed me that my son was presented for a state award, and for that, I needed to schedule an appointment and come to the military commissariat. I admit, emotions overwhelmed me, and they kept repeating on the phone that I needed to arrange a pass to enter the military commissariat»s territory.«
The fraudster started asking for personal data to make a pass for the military commissariat. A bit later, a girl called the mother, introducing herself as an employee of the MFC (Multifunctional Center) and said that the woman had been deceived by scammers.
«I did not realize what I was doing. Then, via video call, a man spoke with me, claiming to be an FSB (Federal Security Service) investigator,» the agitated woman said. «He said that my savings were in danger and needed to be urgently transferred to a »safe account,« and that I was being accused of extremism.»
For the next four days, the «investigator» called the woman and gave her instructions, saying she needed to transfer one million rubles (approximately $10,000 at current rates). The victim admitted that she was very frightened and no longer in control of her actions. She decided to consult with her friend, let her listen to a recording of the conversation, and the friend said it was scammers. The mother of the deceased still went to the bank. Upon learning this, the friend called the police.
A criminal investigation department officer, Police Captain Andrey Alikin, arrived at the bank. He spoke with the woman for about an hour, trying to convince her not to transfer money to anyone. She was under severe stress, but the policeman managed to calm her down and stop her.
«He managed to bring me to my senses and convince me not to transfer anything anywhere,» the victim said. «I am very grateful and appreciative to the operations officer for saving me from a rash act.»
Previously police detained scammers who stole compensation from a resident of Perm Krai for her son who died in Ukraine.
