A resident of Yekaterinburg, who leads a department within a consulting group, faced a devastating loss of 14 million rubles after falling victim to a sophisticated scam. The incident was reported by the regional control department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In this case, an unknown caller claimed to be an FSB officer and asserted that anonymous individuals were trying to secure a loan in the victim’s name. To persuade him, the fraudster sent what appeared to be a court decision connected to a criminal case involving unknown suspects, making the ploy seem credible to the unwary.
The scammer coaxed the victim into withdrawing more than 6.7 million rubles from his accounts. A supposed “Financial Monitoring” official then provided instructions on where the funds should be moved. The ruse continued with the claim that unnamed individuals had taken loans repeatedly and that the victim needed to apply for a so‑called “mirror” loan. As a result, the man was drained of over seven million rubles. A later report claimed that, due to a so‑called “system error,” he also handed over more than 100 thousand rubles to still more unknown actors.
After realizing the deception, the victim contacted law enforcement authorities. At present, investigators are deciding whether to initiate criminal proceedings. This case underscores the ongoing risk of social engineering attacks that prey on trust and fear, often exploiting official-sounding channels to manipulate victims.
Earlier reports noted a similar incident in the Tula region, where a woman surrendered 11 million rubles to fraudsters under the guise of securing a loan. These cases illustrate a troubling pattern of financial scams that rely on impersonating authorities and fabricating legal documents to pressure victims into rapid, irreversible financial actions. (Source: control Ministry of Internal Affairs for the region)