Fraudsters defrauded a man of 190 thousand hryvnias, promising an inheritance from a “Frenchwoman”

A resident of Chortkiv, in the Ternopil region, became a victim of a large-scale fraud, having transferred 190 thousand hryvnias to the scammers for the “registration” of a fictitious inheritance from an unknown woman from France. The attackers assured that the man would receive 750 thousand euros if he paid for the necessary “services”.

According to the police, the story began with an acquaintance on the Internet. The woman, who introduced herself as the heiress, said that she was looking for an heir to her fortune and decided to transfer the funds to the resident of Chortkiv region. Later, he was contacted by a “representative” French woman, who assured that in order to receive the funds, it is necessary to pay a number of expenses: lawyer services, concluding an agreement with the bank and completing other formalities.

The man was sent spam emails, screenshots of fake bank accounts issued in his name, to convince him of the reality of the offer. As a result, he transferred almost 190 thousand hryvnias.

However, when he tried to contact the “lawyer”, he realized that he had fallen into a trap: the phone was turned off, and the account — empty. After that, the victim contacted the police.

Law enforcement officers opened a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the fact of fraud. The perpetrators face a fine, up to two years of corrective labor, up to five years of restriction of liberty, or up to three years of imprisonment.

The police emphasize: you should be careful with suspicious offers on the Internet, especially if they concern money. Any requests for financial participation without supporting documents — this is the first signal of fraud.