Woman sets SUV on fire on 'FSB' orders, streams video
Scammers forced a Yekaterinburg woman to burn someone else«s car. On 23 January, police were informed that a parked Chinese-made SUV had caught fire on Vilonyova Street (Pionersky). The engine compartment was burned out.
The investigative team that arrived at the scene found a bottle with remnants of flammable liquid nearby. Law enforcement officers reviewed surveillance footage and found that at 9:00 p.m., a young woman approached the car. Almost immediately after, the vehicle burst into flames.
Police quickly identified the arsonist. She was a 20-year-old local resident.
«She said that on the eve of the New Year, she received a call supposedly from a delivery service. At the time, she was waiting for a courier who was supposed to bring her gifts. The caller asked for the code that had been sent to the girl»s phone, and she gave it without thinking,« the city police department said.
Then began the standard procedure of deception and intimidation. The girl was called by fake representatives of government agencies who claimed that her personal data had been stolen, threatened her with criminal liability, and demanded that she transfer her available personal money for «collection.» The dialogue lasted about a month, and they managed to steal only 80,000 rubles (about $1,000 at current rates).
«I was blackmailed. The scammers introduced themselves as the Federal Security Service [FSB],» the detained woman complained. «They said that I and my family would get 20 years [in a penal colony] each. They terrorized me endlessly for a month. They tracked all my movements and bank transfers.»
In the end, the scammers ordered the girl to buy lighter fluid and set fire to a car that they would point out. This was supposedly necessary as part of an operation to detain a dangerous criminal.
«On the evening of 23 January, the victim of the scam arrived on Vilonyova Street. She went on a video call with the scammers and showed the cars parked in the yard. The scammers pointed out a silver SUV. When the car burst into flames, she continued to stream what was happening to report back to the fake law enforcement officers,» the police clarified.
In connection with ongoing fraudulent activities, over the past weekend, Yekaterinburg police again conducted preventive raids in residential areas, warning citizens about scammers« schemes and ways to protect themselves from criminals. Law enforcement officers urge everyone to be vigilant.
Local residents tried to put out the blazing SUV with snow. Only the arriving firefighters managed to fully extinguish the flames. A criminal case was opened against the arsonist under Part 2 of Article 167 of the Russian Criminal Code, «Intentional damage to another»s property.«
Updated: for the duration of the investigation, the court placed the girl under house arrest until 23 March.
We regularly write about how scammers deceive people. Read the story about how a serviceman«s family bought an apartment from a Yekaterinburg woman. And after some time, the seller demanded the deal be annulled. She claimed that she sold the apartment under the influence of fake law enforcement officers. The dispute was resolved in court.
