A vigilant resident of Ust-Kamenogorsk, Anara Dobrovolskaya, prevented a major fraud scheme and saved the 3 million tenge savings of a 79-year-old pensioner.

– The incident occurred in one of the city's shopping centers. Anara Dobrovolskaya, on her way home from work, stopped by a store and noticed an elderly woman at a payment terminal. The woman was in tears, visibly distressed, with banknotes scattered on the floor nearby. She was holding a substantial amount of cash in her hands while simultaneously talking on the phone. Anara Dobrovolskaya asked, "Is everything alright?" It turned out the pensioner was attempting to transfer a large sum of money, allegedly to her grandson. However, she was intently listening to instructions from the person on the phone and barely responded to attempts to intervene. The grandmother's behavior and the phone conversation raised serious suspicions, – reported the Department of Police of the East Kazakhstan Region (EKR).

Suspecting foul play, Anara decided to clarify some details from the callers. Taking the phone, she asked several specific questions. The man on the call introduced himself as the woman's grandson, claiming his name was Kirill. However, the pensioner herself had previously stated her grandson's name is Alexander.

– This contradiction confirmed that fraudsters were on the other end of the line. Pretending the call had dropped, Anara led the woman away from the terminal and called the police. Later, she noted the criminals had exerted such strong psychological pressure on the pensioner that the elderly woman initially became alarmed upon seeing the police officers – she had been strictly forbidden to tell anyone about the call, – police detailed.

It was only to the police that the pensioner revealed the caller had posed as a National Security Committee (KNB) officer. Claiming there was an attempt to steal funds from her account, he convinced her to urgently withdraw all her savings and transfer them to a "safe account."

The Department of Police expressed gratitude to Anara Dobrovolskaya for her active civic engagement. The First Deputy Chief of the EKR Police Department, Police Colonel Bolat Nurseitov, noted that it is often the attentiveness and concern of citizens that help prevent crimes.

The police reminded the public that fraudsters continue to use psychological pressure tactics, impersonating government officials. They urged citizens to remain calm upon receiving any such messages, to double-check all information, and to immediately contact channel 102 at the slightest doubt.

Prepared by Olga SIZOVA

Special Correspondent for "YUZHNAYA PRAVDA" (South) in EKR
Photo courtesy of EKR Police Department