In Ternopil, a man fell victim to fraud schemes twice and lost 55,000 USD
A resident of Ternopil became a victim of two consecutive fraud schemes and lost about 55,000 USD in total. First, the man invested money in a fake investment platform, and then tried to recover the funds through a fake lawyer, who also turned out to be a fraudster.
As reported by the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Ternopil region, at the end of 2025 the man found an online platform that offered high investment returns. Believing the promises of quick earnings, he transferred about 24,000 USD to the project's accounts.
The platform organizers assured that within a few months the investment would bring almost 60,000 USD in profit. However, in March 2026 the website stopped working and access to the investment funds disappeared.
After losing the money, the man began seeking help to recover it. On the Internet, an unknown person contacted him, introducing himself as a lawyer and promising to return the funds.
According to the police, the fake lawyer claimed to have contacted competent authorities in the country where the investment company was registered. Later, the victim received an email about an allegedly approved compensation of over 83,000 USD.
To receive the funds, the fraudster set conditions: the man was persuaded to create a cryptocurrency wallet and pay an advance fee of 15% of the compensation amount. Following the instructions, the man from Ternopil transferred another 31,000 USD.
When the scammers began demanding new payments, the man realized he had fallen victim to fraud for the second time and contacted the police.
A criminal case was opened under Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — fraud. Law enforcement officers are identifying those involved in the crime.
For committing such a crime, the law provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 12 years with confiscation of property.
As previously reported by the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", the Strategic Communications Center SPRAVDI reports an increase in scammers sending fake messages to Ukrainians on Viber about alleged social payments. According to the agency, the fraudsters exploit users' social trust and write that the person is supposedly in line to receive assistance. Then they offer to press the "+" symbol and wait for a call.
In the messages, scammers often pretend to be "UN representatives." At the same time, they may make characteristic mistakes — for example, using an account with a female name but addressing the text as a man.
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