In Kyiv, retirees lost more than 8 million hryvnias to scammers who posed as SBU employees
In Kyiv, three retirees fell victim to a large-scale fraud scheme, handing over more than 8 million hryvnias to the scammers. The fraudsters posed as employees of the Security Service of Ukraine and convinced the victims to hand over all their savings, ostensibly for “verification.”
Law enforcement officials determined that two men, aged 23 and 31, acted as couriers. The investigation is currently underway, and investigators are identifying all participants in the scam and the circumstances surrounding the theft of the victims’ funds.
According to available information, in the Dnipro district, an 86-year-old man received a phone call from unknown individuals who informed him that the SBU allegedly suspected him of treason and financing an aggressor country, so he must hand over all his savings and write a handwritten statement regarding the transfer of funds for verification and “declaration.”
The man handed over $63,300 and 48,120 euros to the fake law enforcement officer, who promised to return the money after verification. It has been established that the suspect transferred the pensioner’s savings, obtained through currency exchange, to a cryptocurrency account belonging to individuals unknown to him, according to the post.
Meanwhile, in the Solomyanskyi district, a 77-year-old man was defrauded using a similar scheme. After conducting a “search” via video call, the scammers convinced him to hand over more than 13,000 U.S. dollars, 29,000 euros, and 60,000 hryvnias “for verification.” The total amount of losses exceeded 2.1 million hryvnias.
In addition, scammers defrauded a 70-year-old woman using a similar scheme. According to the investigation, after posing as a special services officer, they had a courier collect $14,000 and 144,000 hryvnias from her “for verification.”
It has now been established that in all three cases, the couriers were a 23-year-old and a 31-year-old man, the post states.
This was reported by the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office.
The scammers promised people protection from fraudsters and swindled nearly ₴1 million.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has warned of a new scam involving “secure accounts” targeting Ukrainians
