Pensioners have begun pretending to be victims of fraud and stealing money

In Russia, pensioners have emerged as fraudsters who sell their apartments and then pretend to be victims of scams in order to obtain money without having to give up their homes, according to the Telegram channel “Moscow News.”

According to the channel, several such cases have been recorded. One of the defrauded women reported that in 2023, she purchased an apartment from a 71-year-old woman after responding to an ad posted on a popular website. The buyer requested a certificate from the owner from a mental health clinic and asked her to explain the reason for selling the apartment—the pensioner stated she was planning to buy a car for her son and move to her existing country house.

Two weeks after the transaction was completed, the previous owner was supposed to vacate the property, but this didn’t happen. Instead, she called the buyer and claimed she had been forced to sell the apartment and now had nowhere to live. Furthermore, the pensioner allegedly transferred the proceeds from the sale to unknown accounts.

The new owner contacted the police and learned that the pensioner had already filed a complaint against her, claiming the buyer was in cahoots with the scammers. The case is now being heard in court.