A pensioner in Tashkent nearly lost nearly 400 million soums to scammers. Video

In Tashkent, a pensioner nearly lost almost 400 million soums to fraudsters. Video

Uzbekistan, Tashkent – Podrobno.uz News Agency.

A resident of Tashkent's Mirabad district nearly fell victim to telephone scammers who posed as telephone exchange employees and then connected a fake investigator and a "Central Bank specialist" to the call. Under pressure, the woman withdrew 370 million soums from her deposit account. The timely intervention of police officers saved her savings.

The incident

happened

to Nadezhda, a resident of the district. It turned out she began receiving calls from various numbers: unknown individuals posing as telephone service employees told her she needed to change her number. Later, they contacted her posing as other specialists and began questioning her about her bank accounts.

The scammers then increased the psychological pressure, claiming that a large loan had been taken out in her name. Under the pretext of "urgent protection of funds," they convinced the woman to withdraw money from her account, promising to guide her through the process by phone. Fearful and under intense psychological pressure, she went to the bank and withdrew all the money.

"I had already left the bank with the money when I sensed something was wrong," the woman said.

She contacted nearby law enforcement officers, who immediately recognized the fraud, took her to the police station, and secured her funds. The officers explained to the woman that she had been contacted by scammers using a common telephone scam: first, they gain her trust, then threaten her with problems with her bank account or credit, and under this pretext, force her to urgently withdraw her money.

Law enforcement officials emphasized that such schemes rely on pressure and intimidation. Bank and law enforcement officers never demand transfers of funds to "safe" accounts over the phone. If you receive such calls, you should immediately end the conversation and seek help from loved ones or the police. As a reminder, banking apps in Uzbekistan have switched to enhanced security. Now, money transfers are blocked if you're on the phone, and logging in from a new smartphone will require a face scan.