Fraud via Fake Website: Odessa Woman Deceives Drivers

In just three days, a woman deceived five residents of Odessa, causing them more than 20 thousand hryvnias in losses. Investigators have filed charges against her, which could lead to imprisonment.

At the end of March, five local residents approached police station No. 2 of the Odessa District Police Department with complaints. The men and women reported that amounts of money had disappeared from their bank accounts.

During the investigation, police identified a 23-year-old Odessa woman as being involved in the crime.

The woman created a fake website for parking payments in Odessa and placed a QR code at one of the parking locations in the Peresyp district. The site looked identical to the official one, but required users to enter their bank card numbers, CVV codes, and passwords.

By following the QR code, citizens entered their confidential information, which was obtained by the fraudster. Using this data, she accessed the victims' banking apps and transferred money from their accounts to her own. The amounts ranged from 4000 to 5100 hryvnias. The total losses amounted to 22,700 hryvnias, which the fraudster spent for her own needs.

Police seized her mobile phone, laptop, and bank card used in the fraud.

“Having collected enough evidence, the investigators charged her under part 4 of article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for obtaining someone else's property by deception, that is, fraud committed through illegal operations using electronic computing technology. The indictment has been sent to court. The accused has admitted her guilt and has already compensated the victims for their losses. According to current legislation, the maximum punishment she faces is eight years in prison,” reported Valentina Istomina, head of the investigative unit of the territorial police department.

We urge residents and guests of Odessa: the cashless parking payment process involves scanning a QR code located on the road sign and subsequent authorization through the Diia app or your banking app. The official website does not require entering a bank card number, CVV code, username, or password. Be more cautious, keep your confidential data secret, and do not let fraudsters deceive you.

Source: https://od.npu.gov.ua/news/stvoryla-feikovyi-sait-oplaty-parkuvannia-aby-zavolodity-hroshyma-vodiiv-v-odesi-politseiski-vykryly-shakhraisku-skhemu-23-richnoi-divchyny