A Moscow pensioner fell victim to a deceitful scheme after trusting callers who claimed his daughter had been involved in a serious accident. The alarming incident was reported by the press service of the capital prosecutor’s office, which detailed the medical and legal pressure used by the scammers to extract money and valuables.
In what reads like a classic emergency scam, a 78-year-old woman received a call from unfamiliar individuals who asserted that her daughter bore blame for the supposed accident. The callers painted a picture of imminent criminal prosecution, insisting that a large sum of cash was necessary to halt the case and keep the daughter out of trouble.
The fraudsters escalated their pressure by demanding 2 million rubles in cash. When the elderly woman explained that she did not possess such funds, the manipulation shifted to leverage a tangible asset. The callers claimed that the best way to secure her daughter’s freedom was to hand over eight gold bars and seventy gold coins to the messenger they would send to the apartment.
A courier arrived at the Moscow home to collect the promised valuables. Only after the daughter returned home and confronted the uneasy truth did the family realize they had been deceived by a sophisticated scam network that preyed on fear and familial duty.
The financial damage to the victim was substantial, reaching four million rubles, and a criminal case was opened to investigate the fraudulent activities and identify those responsible for orchestrating the deception and the theft of valuables.
Beyond this incident, a note of caution emerges from another troubling pattern observed in similar cases. In a separate account, a Russian citizen spent twenty-three years searching for her husband, ultimately paying twelve million rubles to a marriage agency that did not deliver on its promises. This anecdote underscores how desperation can drive people toward high-risk schemes that can devastate finances and trust. The authorities emphasize the importance of verifying requests for money and never revealing personal or financial details to unknown contacts who claim urgent necessity or imminent legal action, even when the caller appears convincing and legitimate.”