Police are investigating a new online fraud case where scammers extracted approximately 15,000 euros from a Paphos woman through a fake inheritance scheme.
The victim accepted a social media friendship request about two years ago from an unknown person posing as a European woman, who claimed to be seriously ill and hospitalised, police said.
The scammer promised to name the victim as heir to 60,000 euros, claiming to have no relatives. After obtaining the victim’s phone number and identity card photo, contact suddenly ceased.
Subsequently, various individuals contacted the victim, presenting themselves as lawyers or estate managers of the supposedly deceased person.
Between 2023 and 2025, they convinced the victim to send multiple payments totalling approximately 15,000 euros, allegedly to facilitate the inheritance transfer.
The case is being investigated by Paphos Criminal Investigation Department after the victim realised she had been defrauded and filed a complaint.
Police warned the public that anyone could be hiding behind an online account, regardless of how they present themselves, and urged citizens to remain vigilant in all their online activities.
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