In Ufa, fraudsters swindled pensioner out of half million rubles for car purchase

A 68-year-old Ufa resident lost all of his personal savings while attempting to buy a foreign car.

According to law enforcement agencies, the pensioner found an advertisement online for the sale of a Toyota Land Cruiser from abroad at a suspiciously low price — 1.4 million rubles. After calling the manager, he learned that to import the car, he needed to pay a duty of 448 thousand rubles. It was proposed to arrange the remaining 952 thousand in interest-free installments. The man transferred the money to an individual's account.

The next day, they called him again and stated that the installment plan had been canceled and that the pensioner now had to pay the remaining million in cash immediately. Realizing he did not have the money, the Ufa resident asked for the deposit to be returned but was refused. Only then did the man realize he had been the victim of fraud and filed a report with the police.

A criminal case has been initiated regarding this fraud. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reminds citizens to be vigilant and verify sellers through official registries before making any payments.