Telephone fraudsters force Lithuanians to sell property and extort money: 17 investigations
Since the beginning of 2025, 17 pre-trial investigations have been opened in Lithuania into the acquisition of real estate through fraud. Victims – usually elderly people – are persuaded to sell their homes hastily at below market prices.
Fraudsters target real estate owners: victims lose both property and money
Vilnius District Police announced on Thursday that over the past several years, law enforcement officers have been recording an increasing number of cases where fraudsters target not only citizens' savings, but also their real estate.
According to LRT, since the beginning of 2025, 17 pre-trial investigations have been opened in Lithuania into the acquisition of very high-value foreign property through fraud. The majority of them are being conducted in the territory of Kaunas Regional Prosecutor's Office – 10, in Vilnius – 6, in Panevėžys – one.
How the scheme works
Fraudsters call and pose as representatives of various institutions or organisations and present a fabricated story: allegedly the victim's property is already being sold on the "black market", so the only way to save it is for the owner themselves to sell it as quickly as possible. Trusting this false information, people sell their real estate hastily and for considerably less than market price.
After the transaction, fraudsters convince the victims to withdraw the received money in cash or use it to purchase gold bars. Later, the cash or gold bars are handed over to persons designated by the fraudsters.
During the pre-trial investigations, it is being assessed whether real estate brokers, notaries or property purchasers could have participated in this scheme.
Victims are usually elderly people
According to investigation data, such fraud schemes most commonly victimise elderly people who, due to psychological pressure and fear of losing their property, make hasty decisions. Some of them are Russian-speakers, so when dealing with such clients it is recommended to take more time to ensure that the decision to sell the property is made independently.
What to pay attention to
The Prosecutor's Office and Police urge real estate purchasers, intermediaries and notaries to be especially vigilant. Suspicion should be raised in situations where an elderly client:
- rushes to sell their only home for a price that is clearly below market value,
- cannot clearly explain the reasons for such a decision,
- indicates they intend to travel abroad,
- behaves in a confused manner and constantly communicates by telephone with unknown persons,
- claims to be carrying out instructions from a bank, police or other institutions.
Officers emphasise: no state institution demands over the telephone that property be sold hastily or that money, gold or other valuables be handed over. Residents are urged to remain vigilant and think critically about any calls in which there is a demand to make quick decisions regarding property or financial transactions.
Source: LRT