Over the span of three days, a woman tricked five residents of Odessa, inflicting damages exceeding 20,000 hryvnias. Investigators have charged the suspect, who now faces imprisonment.

At the end of March, five local residents reported to Police Station No. 2 of the Odessa District Police Department that money had disappeared from their bank accounts.

During the investigation, police identified a 23-year-old woman from Odessa as being involved.

She created a fake website for parking payments in Odessa and posted a QR code near one of the parking areas in the Peresyp district. The site closely resembled the official one, but required users to input their card numbers, CVV codes, and passwords.

By scanning the QR code, individuals entered their confidential information, which was captured by the fraudster. Using the obtained data, she accessed the banking apps of her victims and transferred funds to her account, with amounts ranging from 4,000 to 5,100 hryvnias. The total losses amounted to 22,700 hryvnias, which the fraudster spent on herself.

As evidence, police seized her mobile phone, laptop, and a bank card used in the scam.

"After gathering sufficient evidence, investigators charged the suspect under part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for unlawfully obtaining someone else’s property through deception, specifically fraud involving illegal electronic transactions. The indictment has been sent to court. The accused admitted her guilt and has already compensated the victims for their losses. According to current legislation, she faces a maximum penalty of eight years in prison," stated the head of the investigative unit, Valentina Istomina.

We advise residents and visitors of Odessa: the cashless parking payment process involves scanning a QR code placed on a road sign and subsequent authorization through the Diia app or your banking application. The official website does not require inputting a bank card number, CVV code, username, or password. Please be cautious, keep your confidential data secure, and do not allow fraudsters to deceive you.

Source: https://od.npu.gov.ua/news/stvoryla-feikovyi-sait-oplaty-parkuvannia-aby-zavolodity-hroshyma-vodiiv-v-odesi-politseiski-vykryly-shakhraisku-skhemu-23-richnoi-divchyny