Russian-speaking scammers defraud Šiauliai resident of €131,800

Russian-speaking scammers posing as bank employees defrauded a Šiauliai resident of €131,800, police reported.

The victim, a 75-year-old man, contacted Šiauliai police on Thursday at 15:45, stating that on June 16 around 16:00, unknown individuals called him at home in Šiauliai, speaking in Russian. The callers, claiming to be bank staff, convinced him to install a remote access application and hand over his bank cards. As a result, €131,800 was fraudulently withdrawn from his bank account.

A pre-trial investigation has been launched into the fraud, unauthorised access to an information system, and the creation or counterfeiting of false electronic payment means, as well as the unauthorised use of electronic payment data.

Police also reported that a 63-year-old resident of Klaipėda County lost €21,000 after Russian-speaking scammers convinced him to invest in an online investment platform between May 28 and June 20.

In Vilnius County, six residents were defrauded of a total of €79,200. One victim, a 34-year-old man, was contacted via WhatsApp by Russian-speaking scammers in June, who persuaded him to invest in an online platform, resulting in a loss of €39,000. Another man, aged 86, lost €11,000 after entering his online banking details on a fake bank website on June 23. A 78-year-old man lost €7,500 in a similar scam on June 24.

Additionally, an 89-year-old woman in Vilnius was defrauded of €4,600 by an unknown woman in her apartment building’s courtyard. Another woman, aged 72, lost €8,500 after scammers posing as telecom and police officials called her and convinced her to hand over cash to an unknown man who visited her home. A 76-year-old woman lost €5,000 and had her bank card used to steal an additional €3,600 after scammers posing as telecom, bank, and police officials contacted her between June 22 and 23.

Pre-trial investigations into fraud and related offences have been initiated in these cases.