Elderly Woman Loses 2.5 Million Rubles in Brutal Phone Scam

A 65-year-old woman from Amur District lost 2.5 million rubles in a phone scam. Impostors posing as law enforcement officers tricked her into believing she was financing terrorism. The victim handed over her savings before realising the deception. The scam began with calls from people claiming to be security officials. They used number spoofing to appear legitimate and put the woman under psychological pressure. She was told she had to 'declare' her funds to avoid prosecution for terrorism financing.

Believing the story, she travelled to Moscow with 1.5 million rubles and gave the money to a man pretending to be an official. The fraudsters then demanded an additional 1 million rubles to 'recover' her original sum. To meet this demand, she borrowed the money from her daughter.

The promised return of her money never materialised. After realising she had been scammed, the woman reported the crime to the police. Authorities opened a criminal case under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code for fraud. The investigation is ongoing. The victim’s total loss amounts to 2.5 million rubles.