Staying true to his roots, a Rostov man’s plan to take his girlfriend to the movies ended up costing him 300,000 rubles.

A Rostov man booked a spot at a fake cinema for a date with a girl

Photo: Yulia PYKHALOVA. Go to the KP Photo Bank

In Rostov, scammers tricked a man out of nearly three hundred thousand rubles. They initially offered to reserve seats in a cinema and then accused him of treason against the Motherland.

FATE ON A DATING SITE

Denis (name changed for privacy) was having a tough time in his personal life. At 30, he still lived with his mother and dreamed of starting his own family. He felt shy about approaching girls on the street, so he sought a partner through dating sites.

On one of these popular apps, Denis began chatting with a girl named Nastya. She quickly won over the shy interlocutor: she was friendly, asked how he was doing, and often complimented him. One day, the girl suggested they go to a private cinema and sent a link to a website where he could book seats.

- It’s located in the shopping center in the North. What do you think? - she asked.

- A cinema opened there? I didn’t know, - the man replied.

- I just found out recently; a friend went there and told me about it. Let’s go tomorrow. What do you say?

Denis agreed, of course, and transferred 2,500 rubles via the link sent by his chat partner for a spot in a cozy cinema hall with a hookah. However, he received neither an electronic ticket nor any confirmation of his purchase.

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On dating sites, you can find love but also lose money

Photo: Maria GICHENKO. Go to the KP Photo Bank

NOW - A TRAITOR TO THE MOTHERLAND

At that moment, the scammers realized they were dealing with a suggestible person. They decided to scam him for a large sum. Denis began receiving video calls from two men who introduced themselves as employees of financial monitoring. They told him that he had transferred money to a hostile state and was now considered a traitor to the Motherland.

Denis was so horrified that he had a panic attack. He swore that he had only bought tickets to the cinema and never intended to aid the enemies of his country. The callers demanded proof. With trembling hands, Denis began taking screenshots to show his chat with Nastya.

The fake financial monitoring agents examined the screenshots, pretended to show mercy, and offered to "settle the matter" for 300,000 rubles. Denis had never had that much money — he worked as a sales consultant in a digital technology store and had always avoided loans.

Instead of consulting a specialist or even a friend, the man succumbed to the scammers' pressure. He took a taxi, which they kindly sent for him, to the bank. There, he took out a loan and received 280,000 rubles in cash. Then, at the request of his phone companions, he transferred the money to the specified account via an ATM. They forgave him the remaining debt for his speed.

After Denis transferred the money, his chat with Nastya disappeared from the messenger. Yet, for some reason, this didn't raise any alarms for him.

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The scammers forced the man to take out a loan

Photo: Anatoly ZHDANOV. Go to the KP Photo Bank

STARTED ASKING FOR MONEY FOR SICK GRANDMOTHER'S TREATMENT

Denis was still anxious about being accused of treason and sought legal help.

- I advised the victim to file a police report. I also suggested he call the bank to block the account to which he transferred money to the scammers, - said Rostov lawyer Stanislav Avramenko.

Interestingly, when a police officer called the "financial monitoring" employee, he threatened to behead him.

Meanwhile, the lawyer tried to track down the scammers himself. He created an additional account in the messenger and began chatting with the same Anastasia. He pretended to be a washing machine repairman, saying his wife had kicked him out, and now he was longing for new love.

The woman was thrilled to find another gullible fool and started asking for money for her sick grandmother’s treatment. Stanislav promised to help as soon as he was paid for his work. He even managed to get Nastya's bank card number to transfer funds to her.

All the gathered information, including photographs, was passed on to the police. According to them, the scammer lives in Kharkiv, and the domain of the website for booking spots in the fake cinema is registered in Canada.

Denis continues to live with his mother, work in the store, and pay off the loan.

- In civil court proceedings, it would be possible to recover this money from the scammers, but they still need to be found.

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The Rostov man transferred money to the scammers via an ATM

Photo: from the hero of the publication's archive.

BEWARE!

How scammers deceive on dating sites

Dating sites are a tempting target for scammers. They employ various schemes to deceive users. For example, profiles of girls with stolen or AI-generated photos. A man falls for a fake beauty, unaware he is chatting with a fraudster. The scammer feigns interest and asks for money to top up their account to stay in touch.

They beg for money for gifts, for the treatment of a beloved dog, and even for gas money to come to a date. The most cautious ones extract small amounts from many people. After all, it’s unlikely anyone would pursue them for that.

Another common scheme is asking to book a specific spot for a date. The lady sends the man a link to a restaurant's website and asks him to reserve a table or a spot at the cinema. However, these are fake websites of non-existent establishments, and the "reservation" fee goes directly into the scammer's pocket.

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