Scammers defrauded an Arzamas resident of nearly one million rubles.

      January 12, 2026 16:40 Incidents

      A resident of Arzamas fell victim to a sophisticated fraud scheme and lost 974,000 rubles after believing perpetrators who posed as medical workers, law enforcement officers and lawyers.

      According to the regional directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), a local woman contacted the police to report the theft of a large sum of money. She said it all began with a phone call from an unknown woman who introduced herself as an employee of a medical institution. Under the pretext of undergoing a medical check-up she asked for her SNILS number, which the complainant provided.

      Some time later other people began calling the woman. One of them, without identifying himself, said that the previous call had been from scammers and that a supposed bank representative would now contact her. He said that an account had been opened in her name for two million rubles, and that to confirm she did not intend to withdraw the funds she needed to hand over cash for verification.

      Next came a call from a woman who introduced herself as an investigator from a military agency. She assured the victim that a lawyer would be provided. Soon the "lawyer" himself called and insisted on the necessity of handing over all cash for verification.

      The trusting woman gathered 974,000 rubles, put it in a black bag and handed it to an unknown person. Only after that did she realize she had been deceived and went to the police.

      A criminal case has been opened under Part 3 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — fraud. The article's penalty provides for imprisonment for up to five years.

      Law enforcement agencies urge Nizhny Novgorod residents to be vigilant and not to give personal data or money to strangers, whoever they claim to be.

      Earlier it was reported that con artists had deceived a woman in Gorodets under the guise of employment. And in Nizhny Novgorod, scammers extorted 785,000 rubles from a woman under the pretext of replacing an intercom.

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