A 46-year-old Ukrainian woman voluntarily transferred UAH 2 million to a “British” admirer who promised a romantic meeting and allegedly sent a valuable gift. This was reported by the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
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A resident of the Ivano-Frankivsk region said that she suffered from fraudsters. The police found out that the complainant had met an unknown man on the Internet who introduced himself as a military man named Johnson from Great Britain.
Soon the swindler reported that he had allegedly sent the woman valuable gifts: military awards, medals, and a suitcase of US dollars. Later, a message came that she needed to send funds “for delivery.”
The gullible applicant was not embarrassed that the funds had to be sent to 5 different accounts in Ukrainian banks. In total, she swindled almost 2 million UAH.
However, she never received a single “gift.” She realized that the military man, whose last name was Johnson, was a fraudster, and went to the police.
The police opened a criminal case under Article 190 (Fraud) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Do not transfer money to unknown persons
The police urge citizens not to transfer money to unknown persons who, under the pretext of friendship or romantic relationships, gain trust:
- Do not trust a virtual admirer who says that he bought you a gift or sent valuables to Ukraine. However, he cannot pay the fee. The scammer, as a rule, offers to pay for the parcel; ignore requests for correspondence from strangers and do not transfer money under any circumstances; you should check the information as carefully as possible, and not trust every word of a virtual acquaintance. This will help protect your wallet from scammers.
Let us remind you
This is not the only case of such fraud. Recently, a resident of Kolomyia region paid more than UAH 1 million to a fraudulent admirer for a non-existent parcel.
At the beginning of 2024, a 71-year-old Ukrainian woman met an alleged doctor from England through one of the messengers.