Russian woman lost half a million rubles on “free cryptocurrency courses.”, 2026/04/12 11:19:24

A 55-year-old woman from Orenburg lost 481,260 rubles due to fraudsters who promised returns from cryptocurrency investments. The woman was drawn in by advertisements for “free courses on digital assets,” according to police reports.

According to the investigation, the woman was invited to training courses via an unnamed messaging app, with assurances that the education would be complimentary. Ultimately, she paid 98,000 rubles for investment guidance, law enforcement officials clarified.

Following the instructions of the fraudulent mentors, the woman transferred 334,260 rubles to the account specified by the criminals. When the Orenburg resident attempted to withdraw her funds and the promised earnings, the perpetrators requested an additional 48,000 rubles as a “withdrawal fee.”

After receiving this amount, the “crypto investment mentors” deleted their correspondence and ceased communication. Realizing she had fallen victim to a scam, the woman reported the incident to the police. An investigation was launched under the fraud statute. If the criminals are apprehended, they could face imprisonment for up to six years.

Previously, a 62-year-old resident of Pechora in the Komi Republic lost over 3.5 million rubles while trying to profit from cryptocurrency investments. Initially, the man transferred small amounts to the fraudsters, but upon seeing high returns in his account, he began investing larger sums into the fake opportunities.

In the Krasnoyarsk region, a 26-year-old deputy director of a store transferred 9.3 million rubles to the criminals, also seeking to profit from cryptocurrency transactions.