Yekaterinburg Woman Sets Fire to SUV on Orders of Fake FSB Agents
On January 23, a fire broke out in the engine compartment of a parked Chinese SUV on Vilnov Street in the Pionersky district of Yekaterinburg. Police arriving at the scene found a bottle with remnants of flammable liquid near the car. Surveillance camera footage showed that around 9:00 p.m., a young woman approached the vehicle, after which flames erupted.
Investigators quickly identified the arsonist. She turned out to be a 20-year-old local resident.
Police said: «She reported that on New Year»s Eve she received a call allegedly from a delivery service. At the time, she was waiting for a courier who was supposed to bring her gifts. The caller asked her to provide a code that had been sent to her phone, and she did so without thinking.«
After that, a long period of blackmail began. The fraudsters, introducing themselves as Federal Security Service (FSB) officers, claimed that the girl«s personal data had been compromised and threatened her and her family with criminal prosecution. Over the course of about a month, the criminals extorted 80,000 rubles (about $900 at current rates) from the victim.
«I was blackmailed. The fraudsters introduced themselves as the Federal Security Service,» the detained woman complained. «They said that I and my family would get 20 years [in a penal colony] each. They terrorized me non-stop for a month. They found out about all my movements and bank transfers.»
The scammers« final demand was an order to buy lighter fluid and set fire to a specific car. They explained this as necessary for her participation in an operation to catch a dangerous criminal.
On the evening of January 23, the girl arrived at the specified location on Vilnov Street. Turning on a video call with the fraudsters, she showed them the cars parked in the yard. After receiving the command, she set fire to a silver SUV and continued to stream the fire to report back to the fake law enforcement officers.
Last weekend, Yekaterinburg police conducted preventive raids in residential areas, warning citizens about common fraud schemes and ways to protect themselves. Law enforcement officials urge the public to remain vigilant.
Local residents initially tried to extinguish the burning SUV by throwing snow on it. The fire was finally put out only by the arriving fire crews. A criminal case has been opened against the 20-year-old arsonist under Part 2 of Article 167 of the Russian Criminal Code (intentional damage to someone else«s property).
