A call from a “mobile operator” cost a Minsk resident almost 130,000 rubles
Telephone scammers posing as representatives of a mobile operator, law enforcement agencies and the National Bank swindled almost 130,000 rubles from a Minsk resident.
The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case on this fact.
This was reported by the press service of the Investigative Committee's Minsk office.
How the scammers operated
At the end of September, a 60-year-old Minsk resident filed a complaint with the police after being deceived by telephone scammers.
The applicant received a call via messenger allegedly from a representative of a mobile operator.
The woman was told that her phone would soon be blocked and was redirected to a “law enforcement officer.”
The fake law enforcement officer, in turn, reported that the fraudsters opened accounts in the name of the Minsk resident to sponsor terrorist organizations.
Then, the pensioner was interviewed by alleged representatives of the National Bank and the Department of Financial Investigations of the State Control Committee.
They warned the woman about the planned search of her home and the need to “declare” her savings.
The Minsk resident reported that she had about $40,000 from the sale of her house. At the scammers' direction, she opened an account at a certain bank branch and replenished it.
At that moment, she received a notification on her phone about the issuance of a virtual card in another bank. Subsequently, she received 11 more notifications about the transfer of money.
The pensioner realized that she had become a victim of fraud and contacted the police. During interrogation, she said that, on the instructions of a "National Bank specialist," she installed a remote access application on her phone and gave her login details.
The victim also said that the scammers called via video link, showed their service IDs and documentation. In total, the woman lost more than 128,000 rubles.
A criminal case has been opened on this fact under Part 4 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code (theft by modification of computer information on an especially large scale).
