Since the beginning of the year, residents of Kirov have given almost 450 million to scammers.

      Since the beginning of 2026, 1,439 people have fallen victim to telephone scammers in the region, the prosecutor's office reported. Just in the last week, there were 104 more victims, and the total amount stolen reached 448.6 million rubles (57.6 million in one week).

      Scammers call and introduce themselves as employees of the prosecutor's office, FSB, tax service, Central Bank, "State Services," postal service, and energy sales. To convince victims, they send photos of fake IDs and certificates. They often use couriers who collect money and in return give fake documents.

      One of the most common schemes is pseudo-investments. Victims are convinced to install malicious software that gives scammers remote access to their smartphones. Additionally, the criminals have even learned to imitate the voice of a close relative using artificial intelligence.

      In defense of the victims, the prosecutor's office has filed 530 lawsuits (12 in one week) in courts to recover money from the account holders where the funds went, and 25 lawsuits to declare invalid the loan agreements concluded under the influence of deception.