Pensioner Jānis (name changed to preserve his anonymity) is 81 years old. At this age, he is still working hard. I wanted to invest what I earned wisely.
Four years ago, a tempting offer appeared. Jānis no longer remembers exactly how and on which platform. But he was promised a profit, a good profit. Later, I felt as if I had fallen into a bubble of intoxication.
Threaten with fines and taxes
“I just had to pay money there, and I paid that money. I don’t remember how much was there, about 500 euros. You have to pay again all the time, now you’ve already earned so much, now you’ve earned so much, Everything happens with lies. Then they called me, presented themselves as “Cryptocurrency police”, but such a thing does not exist in the world. They called and threatened. That you have not paid the fine and you must pay the fine,” Jānis recalls.
“Then a “Visa Mastercard” appeared again. You have to pay the tax, you pay the tax – too late, I paid, the next one has to be paid.
He pays, again late and then finds all sorts of faults just to pay. And that’s how I put some 11,000 euros inside,” says Jānis.
“I said, well, start paying me some money.” The crooks answered: “How? What? You put in and you will earn more.”
“I say – it’s enough for me. I’ve invested 11,000, I say, I need to see that I can get something back. And then it disappears. It disappeared completely. No more contact, nothing.”
By promising a return on investment, more money is swindled
However, John’s troubles did not end there. Companies appeared that offered to return the money. But – in cryptocurrency. And for an additional fee. For example, a virtual currency exchange point in the correspondence in Russian, which the man saved, imitates the language of transactions – it is determined that he has 14,500 euros available, which Jānis will receive as soon as he pays the so-called “commission”.
“Consequently, after a brief review and analysis, we can establish the fact that funds are available to be immediately returned to the owner, namely EUR 14,606.65. In order to receive the funds, you must have a registered PayPal account, after which you must make sure that the account can accept cryptocurrency to avoid problems during the commission transfer,” the scammers wrote.
And Jānis also paid. For this purpose, he even took out a quick loan of 5,000 euros, which he still pays back every month.
And worst of all, he installed a program on his computer, allowing fraudsters to also access his current account. Jānis says that they also stole his pension.
“Over the years, I have lost some 50,000,” laments Jānis.
A friend allegedly warned: “I tell you from the bottom of my heart – you will never get your money back in your lifetime.”
“You won’t get a single kopeck, he says. The only one is wasting your nerves and you borrowed from others and so on.”
Fraudsters still operate with impunity
Currently, banks, seeing suspicious payments, have blocked Jānis’ accounts. Even though the case is already in the police, fake brokers are still contacting Jānis.
On the “Telegram” channel, we call the fake “manager” Nikita, who shows concern for Jānis.
Nikita: I would like to ask how you are doing. How is your health?
Janis: What is health if there is no money?
Nikita: I understand. You took offense yourself and you don’t want to continue anything.
Janis: What, I’m sorry, Nikita? You promise to return the money to me. And I have to pay, pay all the time. And there is no end to it.
Nikita: I already told you that this is the end – hey, where is the last step left – take this step and then we will say goodbye to you.
Janis: How many times have you promised that, Nikita?
Nikita: It’s not my fault that there are such obstacles! It happens. It just needs to be addressed. I don’t need your money, not a gram. I had a nice conversation with you, I didn’t talk to you for money, but we talked as a person to a person. It was nice talking to you. And you say such nonsense about me.
Such cases are not rare
The State Police confirms that the criminal process for this case was started in the middle of 2019. Last year it was combined with other criminal proceedings and there are currently 30 of them.
The crime has an international nature – the police are cooperating with colleagues in foreign countries, but there are no suspects yet.
“Currently, a pre-trial investigation is underway in the criminal process, and it has acquired an international character – a joint investigation group has been established and criminal procedural activities are also being carried out in other countries in order to obtain evidence and clarify the role of persons who have committed potential criminal offenses.
No person is under suspect status at this time. At the moment, 30 criminal proceedings have been combined in one record-keeping, to which 16 more episodes of criminal offenses with 16 victims will be added,” informs the Public Relations Department of the State Police
The State Police has currently received 167 cases of investment fraud. It is estimated that people have lost around 1.6 million euros. In total, information on more than 120 victims has been registered.
2023-07-01 18:01:34
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