Yekaterinburg doctor scammed out of over 1 million rubles

A 42-year-old therapist from Yekaterinburg started communicating with a girl on a dating site and lost more than 1 million rubles (approximately $10,000 at current rates). Police have opened a criminal case under the article «Fraud on an especially large scale» (Part 4, Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

The doctor met a certain Veronica back in October of last year.

«She suggested the man continue communication in a messenger. Moreover, he was not bothered that his new friend»s phone numbers were hidden. During the correspondence, «Veronica» said that she is engaged in stock market investments and can help him earn money in a similar way,« police said.

After that, the victim took out a loan for 1.2 million rubles (approximately $12,000 at current rates) and transferred the money to a personal account on a website, the link to which was sent by his internet friend.

«Soon, information appeared on the site that the »deposit« began to yield income. In early December, the doctor wanted to withdraw the »earnings,« but could not. After some time, a certain »Dmitry« allegedly from technical support contacted him and said that to unlock the personal account, another 6 million rubles (approximately $60,000 at current rates) were needed,» the department added.

Only after the Yekaterinburg resident was asked for more money did he realize he had become a victim of scammers. For another month, he tried to contact Dmitry and Veronica, but they did not respond.

Police regularly warn about the dangers of such acquaintances — do not participate in dubious financial transactions.

Earlier we reported how a woman was accused of fraud using the «Dolina scheme.»

All about how scammers deceive Ural residents, we report in a special section.