In Kazan, an elderly pensioner was swindled out of 17 million rubles after robbers posed as officials, causing the victim to sell two apartments and take multiple loans. The incident was reported by the head of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Republic of Tatarstan.
A senior woman received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and warned that the retiree’s savings were in danger. The caller alleged that there were attempts to register numerous loans in the woman’s name and warned that immediate action was necessary to prevent this scenario.
To avert the supposed threat, the Kazan resident was advised to obtain loans from several banks amounting to more than half a million rubles. Acting on the instructions provided by the caller, the elderly woman transferred all funds she could access to accounts specified by the fraudsters.
Shortly afterward, the woman was contacted again. The callers claimed that unknown attackers had put her property up for sale and urged the victim to move assets quickly. In a state of fear, the pensioner sold two apartments and sent the proceeds from the transactions to accounts they presented as safe or controlled by trusted entities.
Realizing the deception, the woman contacted law enforcement authorities. A criminal case was opened for fraud on a particularly large scale, with the total damage estimated at 17 million rubles. The case underscores the severity of these schemes and the importance of cautious verification when confronted with urgent alerts related to personal finances.
In another alarming detail from the investigations, the scammers allegedly promised to secure a position for a Muscovite within the presidential administration in exchange for 100 thousand euros, illustrating that fraudsters often mix threats with promises of influence to manipulate victims. These cases highlight how attackers exploit authority and fear to pressure victims into transferring funds or revealing sensitive data. [Source: regional police statements and investigative summaries]