A 71-year-old woman in Chișinău told police she lost about 1,378,000 lei. The money, from her own savings, was reportedly handed to a courier. The case was made public on Monday, 19 October. It is not a conviction: it is the police’s preliminary account of a crime still under inquiry.

The callers are said to have posed as staff of Premier Energy, of the National Bank of Moldova’s security service and of the State Tax Service. Vocea Basarabiei and MOLDPRES describe the same scheme. Police put the period at 29 September to 17 October.

The suspects allegedly invoked supposed links to “terrorist authorities” to make her hand over the sum. That is the police version, not a verdict. No perpetrator has been named, and no arrest has been announced.

Premier Energy, the National Bank and the tax service do not ask for cash through an unknown courier. If a call demands money or personal data, hang up and ring the institution on the number on its own website, not the one from the call. Then, if needed, call the police.

Police say no new telephone scams were recorded over the weekend. Two offences committed earlier were reported only now, including the 71-year-old woman’s case. Combined damage in the two exceeds 1.5 million lei. Details of the second case have not been published.

In the same period, 59 attempts were stopped before money changed hands, after people refused the transfer. That does not mean a network has been dismantled. It means some of the calls ended with the intended victim.

Until a case is sent to court, three facts remain: a complaint, a declared sum, an impersonation scheme. Anyone writing that “the Premier Energy scammers have been caught” is writing past the statement.

Image: Giku, National Bank of Moldova interior, CC0, Wikimedia Commons; the hall, not the courier.

Sources consulted: Chișinău scam: a 71-year-old woman left without about 1.4 million lei - Vocea Basarabiei; Chișinău woman left without 1.37 million lei after being deceived by fake state officials - MOLDPRES.