In Minsk, a pensioner intimidated by scammers gave all her savings to a courier who also became a victim of their deception

Leninsky (Minsk) district department of the Investigative Committee establishes the circumstances of fraud on an especially large scale. This is reported on the website of the Investigative Committee, writes sb.by.

According to the materials of the investigation, in the summer of this year, a 59-year-old resident of Minsk called a stranger through the messenger, who introduced herself as an employee of the intercom replacement service. After clarifying the number of chips required, she asked for the confirmation code from the SMS. Without feeling cheated, the pensioner did it.

A “digital security specialist” was soon called. He said that the personal data of the Minsk woman got to the fraudsters, and for further instructions switched her to a false employee of the State Control Committee.

In the conversation, the “law enforcement officer” said that the attackers issued a loan to the woman and are now trying to transfer large sums abroad, and they allegedly opened a criminal case against her and are going to conduct a search with the seizure of all money. Savings could only be saved by declaring them.

The procedure was promised to explain, but first asked about the amount of savings and ordered to urgently transfer them to the courier. The frightened woman immediately collected all the money and went to the address indicated by the fraudsters, where she handed it to a stranger.

The scammers promised to return the money the next day, but the connection was cut off immediately after the transfer. Realizing that she was deceived, the pensioner turned to the police.

As a result of operational-search measures, the identity of the courier was established - it was a 24-year-old Minsk citizen. Investigators found out that the young man himself became a victim of criminals and carried out their instructions.

The scheme of deception in relation to the messenger was built on a similar scheme: first, a call from a “specialist for installing an intercom”, who took possession of his personal data, and then, using psychological pressure, the fraudsters demanded to follow the instructions: write an application for alleged employment in the settlement and reference center and send his photo in the messenger, go to Moscow and “help the victims” from fraudulent actions – pick up parcels and transport them to the specified addresses. It was only from police officers that he learned of the deception. The total amount of damage amounted to more than 130 thousand rubles, the IC said.

On this fact, the Leninsky (Minsk) district department of the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under Part 4 of Article 209 (fraud committed by an organized group on an especially large scale) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. Investigative actions and operational-search measures are being carried out to identify the persons involved in the crime.

A resident of the Uzden district believed in the threat of a criminal case and became a courier of fraudsters