A St. Petersburg pensioner lost 182 million rubles as a result of fraud

St. PETERSBURG, October 2 – RIA Novosti. Scammers deprived a St. Petersburg pensioner of money and valuables worth almost 182 million rubles, the alleged courier was detained, the press service of the regional headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation reported.

As noted, on September 26, a 77-year-old local resident contacted the Krasnogvardeisky district police, who became a victim of a fraudulent scheme.

Under the pretext of the need to declare savings, the scammers convinced the pensioner, through her son, to transfer 77.3 million rubles, 120 thousand euros and 2 thousand dollars to the couriers. The scammers also got more than 400 investment coins and five gold coins with an estimated value of more than 42 million rubles.

“The total damage from the actions of fraudsters amounted to 181 million 786 thousand rubles,” the message says.

A criminal case was initiated under an article on fraud (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The alleged courier, a resident of the Chelyabinsk region, was detained and taken into custody.

According to preliminary police data, the man, taking money and valuables from citizens, left them in hiding places, including burying them in places whose coordinates were told to him by unknown “curators.”