In 2025, residents of Kirov Oblast handed over 1.2 billion to scammers.

      In the Kirov region, the number of residents who have fallen victim to remote scammers continues to rise. According to the regional prosecutor’s office, in 2025 more than 4,600 people have suffered from crimes committed using information and communication technologies. In the past week alone, another 44 victims were added to that statistic.

      Perpetrators use a wide variety of schemes and cover stories. They pose as employees of the central bank, the military prosecutor’s office, medical institutions, mobile operators, and automotive companies. Victims are persuaded to “declare” funds, transfer money to a “secure account,” make a doctor’s appointment, “prevent the financing of terrorism,” renew a service contract, or pay for the delivery of a car from abroad.

      They use not only regular phone calls but also messaging apps. Scammers send photos of fake IDs and certificates, and in some cases enlist couriers.

      In the past week alone more than 8.5 million rubles were stolen. Overall, the losses from remote thefts in 2025 have already exceeded 1.2 billion rubles.

      To protect victims’ rights, the regional prosecutor’s office has filed 641 lawsuits in courts to recover funds from the owners of dropper accounts — 30 more than a week earlier. In addition, 32 lawsuits have been filed to declare invalid loan agreements and transactions made against the victims’ will (+2 lawsuits for the week).

      The prosecutor’s office warns residents of the region to be extremely vigilant: scammers continue to come up with new ways to steal savings.