A 70-year-old woman filed a report at Krasnysztau police station and admitted that she had lost nearly 30,000 zlotys over the past year. She turned herself in to the police station on December 1st, and local police are currently giving an account of her condition.
“Fiddler” asked for money for the band
According to the victim's account, between the turn of December and January of last year, she began corresponding with a man who claimed to be a musician via Internet messenger. He introduced himself as a world-famous violinist.
“He wrote about everyday problems, sent her photos of himself, assured her of his love and gained the woman's trust,” explained young applicant Anna Chuszczya.
A few months after meeting the “violinist,” he started asking the woman to buy him gift cards to popular streaming platforms. – He explained that they will be used to pay for hospitalization costs. The woman did not realize the absurdity of the situation and continued to purchase the card for several months afterwards. She spent a total of 10,000 PLN on them, the female police officer added.
The man then went a step further and asked the woman for a loan, to be repaid within three months. He claimed that he needed money to start a music band. The woman sent him 20,000 zlotys.
Police warn. “Cheaters follow patterns”
Meanwhile, the 70-year-old woman provided her interlocutor with her name, surname, address, bank account number and phone number. But eventually, she realized she wasn't getting her money back and reported the matter.
In a statement about pensioners, police warned against similar situations happening again. – This type of fraud is one of the latest forms of this practice. You should always be careful when making new friends. Especially if you are expecting someone you have met for the first time or someone you only know online to hand over money, the female police officer stressed.
She added that scammers act according to certain patterns.
– They usually avoid telephone conversations and vaguely describe their hometown to avoid identification in case the person they are writing to is already there. She added that these people's social media profile accounts do not contain any personal information and usually include a single photo that is difficult to identify.
Simiszek's 'graffiti' on payday loans: supports strong regulation/Porsat News/Porsat News
