Nicosia resident loses 39 thousand euros to online scammers

Nicosia police are investigating a major online fraud case involving a 64-year-old woman. According to her, she lost 39 thousand euros as a result of the perpetrators' actions, believing promises of lucrative investments.

As the victim reported, the story began in September 2024 after she met a man on a social network who introduced himself as a financial consultant and investor. He convinced the woman to transfer 10 thousand euros to him to participate in an allegedly profitable investment program.

Later, the scammer reported that the invested funds had brought a significant income and the amount in the account had increased many times over. However, when she tried to withdraw the money, the woman was told there were «problems with bank details» and was asked to transfer an additional 5 thousand euros to correct the data.

After that, the victim became suspicious and stopped communicating. Some time later, two more unknown persons contacted her, introducing themselves as a lawyer and an employee of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority. They promised to help recover the lost funds, but again convinced the woman to transfer money.

In total, the pensioner sent the scammers another 29 thousand euros. To date, according to her, she has not received any amount back. Nicosia police are continuing the investigation and remind citizens of the need to exercise extreme caution when making online investments and transferring funds to unknown individuals.