A new scam scheme has emerged in Moscow: fraudsters send emails inviting people to join a video conference, and then, posing as law enforcement officers, convince victims to hand over money to couriers. This was reported by the capital's prosecutor's office.
According to the agency, an 88-year-old Moscow resident received an email demanding he join an online meeting. After clicking the link, he saw a person who introduced himself as a law enforcement officer. The person claimed that a transfer had allegedly been made in the pensioner's name to finance criminal activities.
Then, the fake law enforcement officer convinced the man to "cooperate" and showed him instructions via video: withdraw all savings and hand over the cash to an "off-staff employee." The scammers also promised that the money would later be returned with interest.
The pensioner withdrew funds from his accounts several times and handed them over to couriers. The total damage exceeded 4 million rubles. The investigation is under the control of the Gagarinsky Interdistrict Prosecutor's Office.
The prosecutor's office reminded that real law enforcement officers never ask citizens to withdraw money from accounts and hand it over to couriers. Also, one should not open suspicious emails, click on unknown links, or call back numbers received from strangers via mail or social networks.