A woman in Chernivtsi has been charged with fraud after posing as a volunteer to scam families into believing their missing soldiers needed urgent evacuation. Prosecutors reported that from November 2025 to January 2026, she used fake Facebook accounts and messaging apps to find posts from individuals searching for their loved ones.
Claiming to be a volunteer, she convinced the families that their relatives were alive but in critical condition within a conflict zone, requiring immediate financial assistance for evacuation. To lend credibility to her scheme, she utilized photos of real soldiers sourced from the social media pages of their relatives.
The fraudster demanded payment for the supposed rescue operations and continued to create new excuses for additional funds, insisting that the initial amounts were insufficient to complete the evacuations. In total, she deceived five individuals, leading to losses exceeding 75,000 UAH.
Authorities apprehended the accused on January 28, 2026, in the act of receiving another money transfer. During the court proceedings, she admitted her guilt but failed to provide any explanation for her actions.
