Fraudsters scam nearly €10 million from Lithuanians in first months of 2026

Scammers have already defrauded Lithuanian residents of nearly €10 million this year, according to Ramūnas Matonis, a representative of the country’s Police Department, LRT reports.

Matonis stated that fraud cases have risen by 10–15 percent annually since 2020. While the number of pre-trial investigations into fraud slightly declined last year—dropping by 7 percent—reports in the first three months of 2026 show a 6 percent increase in both cases and investigations.

“The trend is clear: these issues remain unresolved,” Matonis told a press conference on Thursday. “Last year, fraudsters stole over €34 million from people. This year, as of this morning, the figure is already close to €10 million.”

Despite concerns that withdrawals from second-pillar pension funds would lead to a surge in scams, Matonis noted no significant spike so far. “We feared a wave of fraud after people started accessing their pension savings, but we haven’t seen a dramatic increase,” he said. “Pre-trial investigations continue daily, but there’s no mass surge.”

However, new fraud schemes targeting pension withdrawals have emerged since the start of the year. Scammers are offering fake investment opportunities with unrealistic returns and impersonating financial experts. “The trend is visible—fraudsters prepared for this, knowing people would access these funds,” Matonis added.