Fraud in Social Media: New Deceptive Tactics

A criminal set up fake accounts on social media, posing as a «healer», offering citizens various rituals: from removing «curses» to finding missing relatives. Prices ranged from 400 to 4,500 hryvnias depending on the «complexity» of the task.
The fraudulent scheme was exposed by operatives from the Dnipro police department in collaboration with cybercrime experts and under the guidance of the local prosecutor's office. During the investigation, law enforcement found that a 28-year-old man from Kyiv developed a scheme to extort money: he created accounts on popular social media platforms, where he communicated with «clients» and provided «services» for allegedly removing «curses» and finding missing persons.
He charged between 400 and 4,500 hryvnias for such «services». Once the money was transferred to his bank card, the fraudster would cease all communication with clients and block them on social media.
Currently, police have documented 7 episodes of fraud committed by the suspect. Efforts are ongoing to identify other victims who fell prey to the scam.
Investigators informed the suspect of the charges under Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – fraud, which carries a penalty of up to eight years in prison.
Kyiv police warns about dangerous criminal schemes and urges citizens to be more vigilant, and to report any instances of fraud or other illegal activities to the police.