"They called her 35 times a day." A 51-year-old Minsk resident gave all her savings to fraudsters and soon died

"By her voice, I felt something was wrong with mom"

— My parents divorced around 2015, I was about 15-16 years old then. They often argued, the relationship was difficult, so I understood that separation would probably be the best solution for both. My father and I continued to communicate; we still have a good relationship.

I stayed with my mom and spent most of my life with her. She was a very educated person, with two higher education degrees. For a long time, she worked as a lawyer in various companies; for some time, she even served as an assistant judge. She had a good career, she knew how to deal with documents, stand her ground, and convince people. Frankly, I always thought that if anyone, she would be very difficult to deceive.

At the beginning of this summer, I decided to move out from my mom. My friends and I found a good option, rented a house outside the city, and since I work remotely, I don't necessarily have to be in Minsk every day.

But that doesn't mean I stopped contacting my mom. I visited her periodically, we often called each other. She really loved to call. She could call me, talk, hang up, and then call back five minutes later because she remembered something else. Sometimes she didn't even need anything specific — she just wanted to talk.

And just a couple of months later, a tragedy occurred in our family. Judging by the correspondence we found on her phone after her death, fraudsters began communicating with mom on September 9. I knew nothing about it then. She didn't tell me about any calls, about "law enforcement officers," or about someone asking her to hand over money.

Павялічыць

At the same time, we continued to call almost every day — though then I started to notice that something was wrong with her. By her voice, I felt that she was very worried, holding something back. Then she started drinking a lot; I understood this by the intonation in her voice.

At some point, mom said she had been robbed. This actually happened in the summer, and I thought she was just recalling an old story. I didn't even think she was talking about completely different people and different amounts of money.

When we found the correspondence, I already understood that all this time she had been under pressure from fraudsters. They communicated with her via Viber, constantly called, and sent some documents. On one of the days, they called her number 35 times. Thirty-five! Can you imagine what kind of pressure that is on a person?

Павялічыць

In the correspondence, there was someone named Elizaveta, who, as I understood, introduced herself as an employee of the DFR KDK (Department of Financial Investigations of the State Control Committee). There were some documents, supposedly related to checking or "cleaning" money. Mom was sent a contract stating that she had to transfer her savings for a specific procedure.

Павялічыць

I looked at that document later and simply couldn't understand how anyone could believe such a thing. It mentioned something about an electronic signature, but it wasn't clear who signed it or with what. Essentially, it was just some piece of paper without proper details, and my mom was a lawyer who understood such things perfectly well herself.

Apparently, when you're constantly being called, frightened, and convinced that something will happen to your money, you start to perceive the situation completely differently.

Павялічыць

From the correspondence, it's clear that Mom was waiting for a courier on the street. The fraudsters even sent her an image of someone's passport. I don't know if that passport belonged to the actual courier or if the courier himself understood what he was involved in. Maybe he was part of the scheme, or maybe he was also used. But the fact is, Mom handed over all her savings.

"The hardest part was removing jewelry from Mom's body. I just couldn't do it."

According to Dmitry, his mother had savings amounting to approximately $12,000 equivalent. The boy knew perfectly well where his mother kept the money: she herself showed him all the hiding places in the apartment. However, the son never touched the savings.

Some time after his mother's death, the boy's father suggested checking if the money was still there. Dmitry says he checked one hiding place, then another, then a third, but all of them were empty. Only gold, securities, and a few small banknotes remained at home.

Then the relatives turned their attention to the phone, and later found the woman's correspondence with the fraudsters in it. That's how it was revealed where all the savings had gone.

— Moreover, Mom herself, as I understand it, realized what had happened only after handing over the money — perhaps when the courier left, and the people who communicated with her stopped responding. That's when she told me she had been robbed, but she didn't reveal any details.

Павялічыць

I still think about it. Why didn't she call me? Why didn't she say, "Dima, some people are contacting me, demanding money, help me figure it out"? We were communicating. I would have come, looked at the documents, talked to her. But she kept everything to herself. Perhaps she was so intimidated that she was afraid to tell anyone. I'll never know for sure.

After these calls, Mom started drinking heavily. When we talked, I heard she was getting worse. I tried to stay in touch, called, but at some point, she just stopped answering. Roughly from September 24, I couldn't reach her anymore. She didn't appear on Viber, didn't call back.

A day passed, then another — I already understood that something serious was happening. On September 27, my girlfriend and I were going to a book fair. We both love reading, so we planned to spend the day together. And then I thought I should drop by Mom's, as we were just nearby.

I was driving home and, frankly, I already understood that something terrible had happened.

Павялічыць

And so it happened. I arrived, entered the apartment, and found Mom in the bathroom on the floor, already dead. It's very difficult to describe in words. You sort of understand that such things happen, you've seen similar stories online, but you have no idea that one day you'll be in the place of someone who found one of their own parents dead.

I immediately understood that I couldn't help anymore. Mom probably didn't die on the day I arrived. But the exact time of death was not reported to me. The official date of death became September 27 — the day I found her.

Павялічыць

The first person I called was my girlfriend; she immediately rushed over, started comforting me. My friend arrived shortly after, then my father — he was there in about half an hour. I was very lucky that there were people nearby who didn't leave me alone. Friends literally rushed from work, came, and helped solve problems.

The hardest moment for me was removing the precious jewelry from her body, because they don't take them to the morgue. I was simply not mentally prepared for this and had no idea I would have to deal with such things. I couldn't remove the jewelry myself; I waited until my father arrived and took care of that part.

It was also hard to tell my grandparents — Mom's parents — what had happened. They are already about 80 years old, and I understood what a blow this news would be for them. So, first I contacted Mom's brother and asked him to help tell the relatives everything. He was with them and was able to do it. I still try to visit them every day or at least call. This is a terrible loss for them. Imagine: living so many years and burying your own daughter.

"I'm still waiting for her call"

The woman's death certificate listed chronic hepatic-renal insufficiency as the direct cause.

— Did your mom have alcohol problems before?

— All sorts of things happened, I won't hide it, she had liver problems. But lately, Mom hadn't been drinking at all, she tried to lead a healthy lifestyle, took care of herself.

Very little time passed from the first communication with the fraudsters to Mom's death — approximately 10 days, if we go by the dates in the preserved correspondence. I cannot claim what would have happened if these calls hadn't occurred, but I saw how her condition changed after them, and I believe that stress could have played a very significant role in her death, because, most likely, it was precisely because of the fraudsters that she started to "drown" it.

Павялічыць

It's hard for me to accept that this happened to her of all people. She was a woman who had worked with documents for many years, knew the laws, and yet some people on the phone managed to make her give away almost all her money. And you know, I don't think it's just about gullibility.

I think fraudsters understand human psychology very well. They know how to pressure, scare, and create a sense of urgency. If you're called dozens of times and told you could lose your savings, even an educated person can get confused.

— Did you contact the police?

— After the funeral, we didn't contact the police regarding the fraudsters. Perhaps someone will say that's wrong, but at that moment I simply didn't have the strength to deal with another investigation. Especially since Mom can't be brought back, and the money — well, God be with it. I've long accepted that the savings went who knows where and finding them will be almost impossible. But losing the closest person — that's still hard.

— Perhaps it would have been possible to at least find the courier so he wouldn't take money from someone else.

— If he doesn't come, someone else will. I think couriers themselves often don't understand what they're involved in. Someone might have just been offered 50 rubles to pick up a package in one place and take it to another. And some might have also been deceived and forced to work for fraudsters.

At the same time, we checked if Mom had taken out any loans in her name and, fortunately, found nothing of the sort. But, I repeat, that's not the main thing for me now.

The day of the funeral is still vivid in my mind. Seeing my mom in her coffin, watching my grandmother and grandfather say goodbye to their daughter, is incredibly painful.

For a while after Mom's death, I blamed myself severely. I thought: what if I had visited more often? What if I hadn't moved out? What if I had called one more time that day? What if I had immediately realized she was scammed? These thoughts constantly swirled in my head. But then I realized that endless "what ifs" wouldn't change anything. I couldn't have known everything that was happening to Mom.

After what happened, I took a week off work, lost my appetite, and developed apathy. Now I'm trying to return to normal life. I work, meet with loved ones and friends. Sometimes I manage to get distracted, and then suddenly I remember that Mom is no longer here. Also, perhaps antidepressants help me cope.

Павялічыць

The strangest thing is — I'm still waiting for her call. Since we lived separately for the last few months, I got used to her being able to call me at any moment. Sometimes I catch myself thinking: she'll call now, tell me something — and then I remember that it won't happen anymore.

Sometimes she appears in my dreams, as if I come to her house, and she's sitting there, as before. I ask: "How can this be? We buried you," — and she replies that she's just very tired and wants to rest. You wake up in a sweat and for a while, you still don't realize it was a dream.

I try to remember not only the recent events but also the good times. Mom truly loved me. Perhaps we didn't always understand each other, sometimes we argued, but I know she wanted the best for me.

I decided to tell everything publicly because I don't want a similar story to happen to anyone else. It seems to me that we've become so accustomed to news about phone fraudsters that sometimes we stop taking them seriously. Someone handed money to a courier, someone took out a loan, someone believed a person who introduced themselves as a bank employee. We read it and forget it, although behind every such story stands a living person. They have a family, loved ones, plans, and the consequences can be much more severe than losing money.

I would like banks and government organizations to warn people more often. So that when large sums are transferred, there are additional checks, notifications, an opportunity to stop and think. So that people are reminded again: if strangers contact you again and demand money urgently, it's a very serious reason to be alarmed.

At the same time, I understand that warnings alone are not enough. Mom also read the news and knew about fraudsters. Therefore, I want to ask people to be more attentive to each other. If a loved one suddenly becomes anxious, withdrawn, stops talking about their affairs, perhaps it's worth trying to find out what's happening. Don't dismiss strange conversations and unexpected requests.

The police confirmed to the "Onliner" editorial office that the young man's mother had indeed contacted law enforcement. As it turned out, on September 13, 2026, under the influence of phone fraudsters, the woman handed over 8800 euros, 5000 Belarusian rubles, and 2400 dollars to couriers. A criminal case was initiated based on the incident under Part 3 of Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (large-scale fraud). The police also reported that the courier was identified and apprehended.

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