On February 16, around 1 PM in Vilnius, a 86-year-old man received a phone call from unknown individuals speaking Russian. The callers, impersonating employees from an energy service company and a bank, deceived the man into believing he needed to provide his money for supposed services. As a result, the man was persuaded to hand over a total of 39,495 euros to an unknown woman who later arrived at his home.

The incident has triggered a preliminary investigation under Article 182, Section 2 of the Lithuanian Criminal Code, which deals with fraud. This alarming case underlines the increasing trend of such scams targeting vulnerable seniors, often employing sophisticated tactics and exploiting language barriers to gain the victims' trust. The sheer amount lost indicates how impactful these scams can be on the victims' financial and emotional well-being.

Local authorities urge citizens, especially the elderly, to remain vigilant and skeptical of unsolicited phone calls from unfamiliar numbers. The police are actively working on identifying the scammers involved in this incident, highlighting the need for better awareness and preventative measures within communities to protect senior citizens from such fraud attempts.