In Ukraine, a con artist-casanova was exposed, who deceived more than 30 women

In Ukraine, a con artist-casanova was exposed, who deceived more than 30 women

More than 30 Ukrainian women fell victim to a fraudster from Rivne who met them through Telegram, gained their trust, and took out loans in their names. The total amount stolen was approximately 300,000 hryvnias.

This was reported by the Lviv Region Police. The perpetrator was uncovered by operative officers of the criminal police and investigators in cooperation with the Halytskyi District Prosecutor’s Office. He faces up to 8 years of imprisonment.

The criminal operated in a Telegram dating channel, where he searched for his future victims. He used psychological tactics to gain the trust of women and offered them additional income opportunities. The main fraud scheme worked as follows:

• acquaintance – the man presented himself as a decent and friendly person, creating the image of a reliable individual;
• income offer – invented attractive opportunities for easy money that required providing personal information;
• access to bank accounts – obtained the women’s financial information, promising it was needed for fund transfers;
• loan applications – using the obtained data, he took out online loans in the victims’ names and transferred the money to his accounts.

Most women did not even suspect loans were taken out in their names. They only discovered this after banks began demanding repayments. Several deceived women, upon receiving notifications from financial institutions, realized they had become victims of fraud and contacted the police.

Following the investigation, the indictment was sent to court. The fraudster is charged under Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Fraud). The penalty for this article ranges from 3 to 8 years of imprisonment. To avoid becoming a victim of fraudsters, follow basic financial security rules:

• do not share your personal information with strangers, even if they seem trustworthy;
• do not disclose bank card details and access to financial accounts;
• verify information about "easy earnings" – if an offer sounds too good to be true, it might be a scam;
• use two-factor authentication in banking apps for additional protection;
• regularly check your credit history to timely detect possible unauthorized loans.