Woman loses 1.7 million rubles to scam courier

Over the past Friday and weekend, four residents of Tula Oblast fell victim to scammers. The total damage exceeded 1.94 million rubles ($21,600 at current rates), according to the regional police department.

The largest sum was lost by a 55-year-old woman from Novomoskovsk. According to police, over several days she received calls and messages from unknown individuals posing as employees of various agencies. Under psychological pressure, they convinced her that scammers were trying to steal money from her bank accounts and that to keep her savings safe, she needed to transfer them to a «trusted person».

Believing the scammers, the Novomoskovsk woman met a courier and handed over 1.7 million rubles ($18,900 at current rates) in cash.

A criminal case has been opened under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — fraud on an especially large scale. The maximum penalty under this article is up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 1 million rubles ($11,100 at current rates).

Police again reminded that employees of banks, law enforcement, and government agencies never ask to hand over cash to couriers or transfer money to so-called «safe accounts.» If during a phone conversation the interlocutor insists on urgently withdrawing money, handing it to an unknown person, or mentions an allegedly opened criminal case, the conversation should be immediately terminated.