Courier saved a 71-year-old Nizhny Novgorod woman's money from scammers.

      28 August 2025 18:28

      [278]

      Incidents

      In Nizhny Novgorod, a man who had taken a job as a courier voluntarily handed a large sum of cash to the police, suspecting that he had become involved in a fraud scheme. The press service of the regional Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported this.

      A 45-year-old city resident went to Police Department No. 5 to report that he was in possession of 660,000 rubles which, he believed, may have been stolen from another person. He explained that he had taken the courier job after posting his resume online. The employer had offered him deliveries of documents and cash, promising accompaniment, coverage of living expenses and even a visit to the hairdresser.

      He received the first package of money — 400,000 rubles — from a taxi driver and, following instructions from a "curator," transferred the funds to cryptocurrency wallets. However, when he was given 660,000 rubles again the next day, he became suspicious and decided to contact the police.

      MVD officers established that the money belonged to a 71-year-old resident of the Avtozavodsky District, who the day before had fallen victim to telephone scammers. The pensioner, following instructions from fake law enforcement officers, handed the cash in a box that had contained a car battery to a taxi driver. She was led to believe that she could be held liable for allegedly financing a foreign state, and that only handing over the funds "to a safe place" would help her avoid punishment.

      A criminal case has been opened on fraud under Part 3 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The money delivered by the courier has been returned to the owner in full.

      The Nizhny Novgorod branch of the Russian Interior Ministry reminds: no official organization uses couriers to transport money. Any offers to transfer funds to "safe accounts," "verified safety deposit boxes" or "in the interests of the investigation" are tricks used by criminals.

      Earlier it was reported that the scammers had convinced the Nizhny Novgorod pensioner to sell her apartment and hand over the money.

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