Sophisticated scam on the internet. A woman wanted to sell a riding saddle, she lost 140,000

In the Pardubice region, criminal investigators repeatedly investigate cases of internet fraud. People lose tens to hundreds of thousands of crowns because of them. The police warn, for example, of fake links to transport companies. The last two cases happened in Svitava and Pardubice, said police spokeswoman Andrea Muzikantová.

A forty-two-year-old woman from Svitava recently offered a riding saddle for 9,000 crowns for sale via a social network. The next day, an interested party contacted her and offered to arrange all the administration and she only needed to know the phone number, e-mail and account number.

“The person insisted on emailing her instructions along with a link to open and not close for five minutes to make the payment,” Muzikant said.

The woman received confirmation from the alleged shipping company that the transaction was in order and the money would be credited to the account within 24 hours. But the next day she received another message that there were complications and the money would be delayed. Meanwhile, the perpetrator withdrew the bank account of the defrauded woman.

“The woman discovered several outgoing payments to unknown accounts in the amount of 140,000 crowns. The victim reacted to this by blocking her payment card and her account. She then learned at the bank branch that someone had opened two more accounts in her name. Fortunately, at least one of them was several tens of thousands of crowns to save,” said Muzikantová.

A 60-year-old woman from Pardubice, who ran into fraudsters while selling dresses, had a similar fate. In the fake link, the shipping company filled in their banking credentials, giving the fraudster remote access to their account. Through several transactions, more than 200,000 crowns disappeared from her account.

“In connection with the above-mentioned and other cases of fraudulent activities in the online environment that they deal with on a daily basis, the police officers once again warn citizens to be cautious in the Internet environment, not to enter their banking credentials in the links sent and, above all, to read carefully messages that will confirm,” Muzikantová added.