Fraudsters deceived a resident of Berezovsky who decided to buy a Volkswagen from Korea.

      Neither money nor a foreign car - this is how sadly the attempt of a resident of the Sverdlovsk region to bring a car from abroad ended. The regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs provided advice on how not to fall into the clutches of fraudsters.

      The desire to invest in an "iron horse" under the threat of rising prices does not always end well. One of the new ways to siphon off savings or loans from people has become a scam when purchasing a passenger car from abroad via the Internet, reported the head of the press service of the Sverdlovsk region, Valery Gorelykh.

      "This topic has also been mastered by swindlers and is actively used. I will give a very recent example from the city of Berёзovsky, where a worker from a local repair and mechanical plant fell into the 'clutches' of fraudsters," Colonel Gorelykh told Uralweb.ru. "The man, with the help of a dubious website, decided to purchase a Volkswagen from abroad for 1,630,000 rubles. Immediately, no less dubious individuals contacted him, assuring that the desired foreign car would be quickly delivered from Korea by car carrier; he just needed to transfer the required amount to a specific account. This is exactly what the happy future owner of the 'swallow' did. However, the joy of the long-awaited acquisition never came."

      As a result, the victim was left without money, without a car, and without a good mood for many years to come, added the official representative of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The police are currently investigating this story.

      The combinations involving cars or other consumer goods can vary, notes Colonel Gorelykh. He urges everyone to double-check everything before trusting strangers.

      "To avoid finding oneself in the situation described above, those who decide to buy a car not from a dealership should be wary of tempting prices. Often, this is where the catch lies," summarized Valery Gorelykh.

      As a result of a set of measures taken by the Sverdlovsk police, the number of thefts of funds from citizens' bank cards this year has been reduced by 28.8%, and fraud by 34.3%. However, those who love easy money do not sit idly by; they quickly come up with new schemes for deception and improve already known ones. In just the first quarter of 2026, the damage caused to residents of the region amounted to more than one billion (1,000,372,058 rubles), which is 33% more than last year.