Fraudsters swindled more than 38 million rubles from Nizhny Novgorod residents in a week.

      On March 31, 2026, at 14:16, Incidents: Over the past week, residents of the Nizhny Novgorod region transferred more than 38 million rubles to scammers. This was reported by the press service of the regional Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Police registered 57 crimes committed using various fraudulent schemes. Most often, the perpetrators acted under the pretext of a "call from the bank's security service" — 27 such cases were recorded. Another 9 episodes were related to online shopping scams, and 7 involved offers for additional income. One of the largest scams involved a resident of Sarov. An unknown person convinced the pensioner to transfer her savings to an allegedly "safe account," promising to protect her money from unauthorized transactions. Initially, the woman sent 3.5 million rubles, and then continued to transfer funds through ATMs of different banks over several weeks. In total, she lost 7,695,000 rubles. In Dzerzhinsk, a local resident lost 35,000 rubles after attempting to sell shoes online. A fake buyer asked for personal details and to follow a link in an email, where she was required to enter her bank card number. After that, money was withdrawn from the seller's account. Another case occurred in Gorodets. A 55-year-old woman became interested in an advertisement for additional income in a messenger. Following the instructions of a person posing as a broker, she installed two applications on her phone and transferred money to specified accounts for a month. The victim lost 387,900 rubles. When she was informed about a "technical failure" and the need to involve a guarantor, her nephew joined the transfer of funds, sending the scammers 360,000 rubles. The police remind that bank employees and law enforcement do not require money transfers or confidential information over the phone. Citizens are urged not to share card details, codes, and passwords with strangers, to verify information about sellers online, and not to agree to 100% prepayment. Fraud incidents should be reported by calling 02 or 102 from a mobile phone or by contacting the nearest police station. It was previously reported that a resident of Nizhny Novgorod lost 2.8 million rubles after "declaring funds." NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" has a Telegram channel. Subscribe to stay updated on major events, exclusive materials, and operational information. Copyright © 1999—2025 NIA "Nizhny Novgorod." When reprinting, a hyperlink to NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" is mandatory. This resource may contain materials 18+.