Fake financial brokers cheat 6,000 euros from a woman – Criminal

False financial brokers have defrauded more than 6,000 euros from a woman in Kārsava region this month, Lāsma Kursīte, a representative of the Latgale Region Office of the State Police (VP), informed.

The deceived is a resident of Mērdzene parish born in 1962. “Financial brokers” scammed her for more than 6,000 euros.

The police have initiated criminal proceedings for what happened.

The VP calls on the population to be careful when receiving telephone calls from unknown persons who speak only Russian, calling themselves financial brokers or various other types of “financial specialists”.

“These” financial specialists “persuade people to start investing activities using various virtual internet platforms not registered in Latvia, as well as offer help in the whole process to start investing,” Kursīte described the applied scheme.

In the communication process, with potential investors agreeing to the offer, communication in Russian will continue via Skype. When trying to start communication in Latvian, fake brokers admit that they do not speak Latvian. With the help of “financial specialists”, loyal citizens create current accounts on their computers on virtual Internet platforms and start investing.

“By thus attracting persons who have agreed to engage in questionable financial transactions online, to perform various financial activities, as a result, different amounts of money are transferred in several payments,” explained the LP.

By continuing to communicate with fraudsters, on their advice, investors continue to engage in a variety of financial activities, buying and selling a variety of shares, as well as engaging in other financial activities that generally give the impression that individuals are making a profit.

In communication with persons who have agreed to invest in questionable virtual platforms, “financial professionals” use telephone numbers registered in various countries – Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Portugal, Italy, Austria, France, Belgium, England, Germany, Romania, the Netherlands and other countries. Negotiations between investors and “financial professionals” are conducted in Russian, but the possibility that fraudsters may communicate in other languages ​​in the future must not be ruled out. The LP inspects such cases.

“There are reasonable suspicions that such a money laundering scheme is implemented by an organized group of persons from abroad, and it has been established that such crimes have been committed not only in Latvia, but also in neighboring countries,” Kursīte informed.

Before using investment platforms, the police call to make sure that the chosen service provider has received a license from the Financial and Capital Market Commission.

The police also urge citizens to be careful and not to be overly loyal when communicating with strangers or meeting virtual users on social networks. Also, no one should disclose their and credit card details.

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