Scammers steal nearly €68,000 from residents of Utena, Kaunas, and Vilnius

Residents of Utena district, Kaunas, and Vilnius have reported losing nearly €68,000 to scammers, according to a report by LRT citing the Police Department.

A 73-year-old woman from Utena district reported on Tuesday that she received a text message on July 14 with a link claiming she had won a prize. After clicking the link and entering her banking details, unknown individuals stole €21,640 from her account.

In Kaunas, a 75-year-old woman reported that on June 16, Russian-speaking individuals posing as employees of a telecommunications company, a bank, and police officers tricked her into handing over €9,500. She gave the money to an unknown man who visited her home.

On the same day, a 73-year-old man in Kaunas reported a similar scam. Russian-speaking callers, pretending to be bank employees and police officers, deceived him into transferring €14,800 on July 9–10.

Vilnius police also received a report from an 81-year-old woman who was contacted by a Russian-speaking individual posing as a police officer on July 13–14. The scammer convinced her to hand over €22,000 and a bank card. She gave the cash to an unknown man on July 13 and the card to an unknown woman the following day. A 23-year-old suspect has been detained in connection with this case.

Police have launched pre-trial investigations into all incidents.