A pensioner-aged woman contacted the State Police (VP) from whom phone fraudsters defrauded approximately 46,000 euros, the police informed.
A pensioner-aged woman contacted the State Police (VP) from whom phone fraudsters defrauded approximately 46,000 euros, the police informed.
In the submission, the woman stated that in May 2022 she was called by an unknown person who said that a bank account or a cryptocurrency account had been opened in the name of the victim and that large sums of money had been transferred using the data of the victim, which could cause her to have problems and have to pay taxes. The caller offered to help resolve the issue.
The caller gave the woman instructions on how to proceed and requested to install the “AnyDesk” software on the phone. This software is designed to allow a person to remotely connect to another computer or mobile device.
After some time, the woman found that thousands of euros were missing from her bank account.
In January 2023, the defrauded woman had noticed an advertisement for legal assistance in the process of recovering defrauded money. Having believed the false ad, the lady unsuccessfully tried to contact the indicated phone number, but after some time she was contacted on the mobile application “WhatsApp” as if by a representative of the company.
The stranger told the woman that her money had been withdrawn from a Swiss bank, but that in order to get it back, she had to pay for this service. The woman transferred the money, after which the fraudsters promised to help her get the money back.
Unfortunately, the woman found that another 36,000 euros had been withdrawn from her bank account between the end of May and the end of June this year. Preliminary information shows that the victim may have also taken out loans.
In connection with this case, the police have started criminal proceedings and the investigation is ongoing.
The State Police repeatedly calls on citizens to be careful and not to disclose their bank account details and other sensitive information to anyone either by phone or in writing.
Also, the police remind that fraudsters with number spoofing technology can spoof phone numbers and even imitate the phone numbers of various companies or government institutions.
The police urges to warn their loved ones, relatives and neighbors about fraud trends, especially middle-aged, elderly and Russian-speaking people.
