Rechytsa Pensioner Had a Romance with Actor Menshikov and Lost 3 Thousand Rubles. Luckily, She Had No More

The acquaintance happened on TikTok. The unknown person's page featured a photo of the actor and his name. Later, the correspondence moved to WhatsApp, where the fake Menshikov quickly confessed his love to the woman and stated that he wanted to link his life with hers. He even said that he had bought a plot of land in Gomel to build a house and intended to bring his future wife there.

During daily conversations, the pensioner told her interlocutor about her affairs: working in the garden, caring for her grandson, household chores, health problems, and her relationship with her husband. In response, the "actor" sent bouquets, compliments, and declarations of love, but at the same time persistently demanded money.

He convinced the woman that he needed funds for his divorce proceedings. He explained that if his Belarusian beloved transferred the money, half of his capital — over 10 million Russian rubles (about 119 thousand dollars) — would allegedly legally pass to her. The bank accounts he sent belonged to third parties. This raised the pensioner's suspicions, but the scammer dispelled them, accusing her of indifference and again confessing his feelings.

The woman said that she had already been a victim of a similar scam a year and a half ago. At that time, through TikTok, they tried to extort money from her under the guise of paying customs fees for a package of gifts from her "lover". However, the current interlocutor did not abandon his demands and continued to convince her of the sincerity of his feelings.

The pensioner could not find 5200 rubles: she was not given a loan, and borrowing money was unsuccessful. The scammer exerted such strong psychological pressure on her that the woman even began to consider selling a kidney and taking out a loan for dental treatment to transfer money to the "star".

"Pay, our future happiness depends on it," "You probably don't love me. Then find yourself another man on TikTok," "Darling, if you manage to transfer the money, we will live together in Gomel in our house," — with such messages the criminal manipulated the woman.

During monitoring, employees of the cybercrime counteraction department of the Rechytsa District Internal Affairs Department noticed suspicious activity, numerous money transfers, and attempts to send money abroad. They contacted the pensioner to prevent further fraud. Initially, the woman refused help and insisted that everything was under control. After lengthy conversations, however, the police managed to convince her that she was sending money to criminals, not to her beloved artist.

According to police officers, an entire group of people could have been involved in this fraud. This is evidenced by errors in pronoun usage and the use of an online translator, which may indicate the foreign origin of the perpetrators.

The police urge people to pay attention to the behavior of elderly relatives. If a person constantly uses their phone, hides their conversations, asks to borrow money, or frequently visits banks, it is worth asking if they are in trouble. It is also important to talk to loved ones about online fraud and give them attention so that they do not become easy prey for criminals.

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