Belarusian woman transferred large sum for non-existent parcel from abroad
Telephone scammers posing as a postal service tricked a pensioner from Gomel out of almost 14,000 rubles.
The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on this fact.
This was reported by the press service of the Investigative Committee for the Gomel Region.
How the scammers operated
In mid-September, a 68-year-old resident of Gomel received a call from an unknown number, allegedly from a postal service courier.
The caller told the woman that a package containing items and $60,000 from distant relatives in Switzerland had arrived at the customs point in Minsk in her name.
The Gomel resident was required to declare the contents of the parcel. "Courier" offered to do this in absentia and hurried her with the payment.
Since the required amount was large, the negotiations dragged on for two weeks. During this time, the pensioner borrowed from friends and private lenders, and also pawned gold jewelry at a pawnshop.
The woman transferred almost 14,000 rubles to the "courier" in several stages. Soon the "courier" sent a message that he, along with the truck and parcels, had been detained by the police and asked to transfer a large sum to resolve the problem.
After a short correspondence, the Gomel resident realized that she had become a victim of fraud and contacted the police.
The victim said that she had repeatedly seen information about similar crimes in the media.
The Gomel city department of the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on this fact under Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code (appropriation of property by deception on a large scale).
The Investigative Committee calls on citizens to be critical of messages and calls from strangers about valuable parcels from foreign relatives, virtual friends from dating sites, lottery companies, charities and other organizations on the condition of paying “tax deductions,” “customs payments,” “fines for violating transportation rules,” etc.
