Scammers trick two people out of over €48,000 in Lithuania

Fraudsters posing as bank employees and police officers have swindled more than €48,000 from two victims in separate phone scams in Kelmė and Vilnius, Lithuanian police reported Wednesday.

A 68-year-old woman in Kelmė lost €14,200 after receiving a call on April 16 from unknown individuals speaking Russian, who claimed to represent a telecommunications company, a bank, and law enforcement. The scammers convinced her to transfer the money under false pretenses.

On the same day, a 67-year-old man in Vilnius was defrauded of €34,000 in a nearly identical scheme. The callers, again speaking Russian, impersonated bank staff and police before tricking the victim into handing over the funds.

Police have launched pre-trial investigations into both cases, treating them as large-scale fraud.