Russian Pensioner Loses Life Savings in Brutal iPhone Scam
A 72-year-old pensioner in Krasnodar has lost over 5 million rubles in an elaborate phone scam. The fraudsters tricked her into believing she was under investigation for links to terrorism, leading her to hand over her life savings and even sell her home.
The scam started with a call from someone claiming to be from a clinic where the woman had recently had a medical checkup. Shortly after, she received another call from a man posing as a 'Roskomnadzor employee', who warned her that her iphone was infected with malware.
The fraudsters then instructed her to boil her iphone in salted water to 'remove the virus'. They went on to claim she was listed as an accomplice to terrorists and told her to follow orders from fake 'Rosfinmonitoring' and 'FSB' officials.
Under their instructions, the pensioner withdrew money from her accounts and handed 4.282 million rubles to a courier. She was also convinced to sell her apartment, giving the courier an additional 3.35 million rubles.
Authorities have since launched a criminal fraud investigation into the incident.
The pensioner's total losses exceed 7.6 million rubles after she followed the scammers' demands. Police are now examining the case, though no further details on similar fraud schemes in the region have been released.
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