Pensioner paid more than UAH 1 million to a fraudster for a “gift” from England
24 June 2024 08:35
A resident of Kolomyia paid more than a million hryvnias for a non-existent parcel from a “foreigner”. This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the police of Ivano-Frankivsk region.
the 71-year-old resident of Kolomyia told police that she had met a man in a messenger who introduced himself as a doctor from England. They corresponded for six months. The scammer assured her that he really liked her and was ready to move to Ukraine to live with her.
According to the legend, the foreigner sent a parcel containing a large sum of money and valuables, but the valuable gift was allegedly seized at customs. The woman was then contacted by an alleged courier and customs officials who informed her that she had to pay customs duties and penalties.
The Prykarpattia woman made several transactions to the scammers’ accounts, transferring more than a million hryvnias in total. However, she did not receive any parcels, and the suitor disappeared from the network.
The police are investigating under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It is a fraud committed on a particularly large scale.
Tips from the police on how to protect yourself from dating site scams:
- users of dating sites should be alerted if your new online acquaintance instantly confesses his or her love, asks for money for various reasons, and even offers to continue communication on a personal page on social media;
- check the information about new acquaintances, enter the name and photo in the search, often fraudsters use photos of other people they have found on the Internet;
- never send money, bank card details, account information, or personal documents;
- if you have any suspicions or doubts about the intentions of the person you are talking to, it is better to stop the conversation;
- tell your family and friends about your plans just in case.
