Russian-speaking scammers defraud two Vilnius residents of over €36,000

Russian-speaking fraudsters have tricked two Vilnius residents out of more than €36,000 in separate phone scams, Lithuanian police reported Friday.

According to the Police Department, a 50-year-old man reported on Thursday that unknown Russian-speaking callers, posing as police officers, deceived him out of €17,630 and $2,000 (approximately €19,329 in total) between May 6 and 7 while he was at home in Vilnius.

Later the same day, a 74-year-old man was similarly targeted. Scammers impersonating telecommunications company employees, bank staff, and police officers defrauded him of €16,730 in a separate incident.

Pre-trial investigations into both cases have been launched.