68-year-old woman from Blaj defrauded of 253,600 lei in fake cryptocurrency scheme using AI documents
A 52-year-old man from Bacău was detained in flagrante delicto in Blaj, suspected of helping to defraud a woman of 253,600 lei through false cryptocurrency investments.
Man from Bacău detained after woman from Blaj loses 253,600 lei in cryptocurrency fraud
Police from the Alba Criminal Investigation Service detained, on 21 October, a 52-year-old man from Bacău, investigated for complicity in fraud, according to G4Media. He was caught in flagrante delicto at the moment he had travelled to Blaj to collect money from a 68-year-old woman.
According to the Alba County Police Inspectorate, the man was supposed to deposit the collected sum into a dedicated ATM for purchasing cryptocurrency, in the account of an electronic wallet indicated by unknown persons. The operation was foiled with the assistance of officers from Blaj Municipal Police.
The investigation conducted under the supervision of the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Blaj Court established that, on 4 September, the woman was convinced to transfer 46,600 lei into the man's personal account, under the pretext that she would be helped to obtain income from stock exchange investments. The sum was subsequently deposited into a cryptocurrency ATM.
In the period 26 September – 13 October, the same man reportedly travelled to Blaj on several occasions and directly collected a further 207,000 lei from the woman, which were also deposited into cryptocurrency ATMs. For each transaction, he allegedly received 3,000 lei.
According to investigators, the victim was deceived through documents and photographs created with the help of artificial intelligence, methods which gained her trust before the money was requested.
The total loss recorded amounts to 253,600 lei. The investigation is continuing both against the 52-year-old man for complicity in fraud and in order to identify the other persons involved in the scheme and to recover the full amount of the loss.
Source: G4Media