Omutninsk woman loses savings to fake American soldier

About a year ago, a 68-year-old resident of Omutninsk met a man in one of the messengers who introduced himself as Jordan. He claimed to be a US serviceman stationed in Syria. Their friendly communication eventually turned into a romantic correspondence.

In July 2026, the fake soldier told the woman that he had decided to surprise her and sent a package with an expensive gift through a transport company. The next day, she received a call from a supposed representative of that company, who stated that the cargo weighed 34 kilograms (75 lb) and that she needed to pay 27,000 rubles (approximately $300 at current rates) for its shipment. Believing him, the victim transferred the money to the specified account.

After some time, a new message came from the same «transport company»: supposedly gold was found in the package, so an additional 29,000 rubles (approximately $322 at current rates) was required. The woman complied with this demand as well. When the package did not arrive by the agreed date, she tried to contact the carrier — but all correspondence in the messenger had been deleted, and her new friend stopped getting in touch.

The victim contacted the police. A criminal case was opened under Part 2 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud causing significant damage to a citizen).

The Kirov Oblast police urges citizens to be vigilant: not to transfer money according to instructions from strangers, to communicate with caution in messengers and on dating sites. Any tempting promises should be met with a critical attitude. If the interlocutor steers the conversation toward financial matters, it is a sure sign of a scammer.