A 73-year-old pensioner in Surgut, Natalya Petrovna Malchikhina, was defrauded of her three-room apartment and savings totaling approximately 5.5 million rubles. Malchikhina, a labor veteran of KhMAO and OAO “Surgutneftegaz” with 30 years of service at “SurgutNIPIneft,” fell victim to an elaborate scheme involving individuals posing as government officials and FSB agents.

The scam began with a phone call from someone claiming to be from “Gosuslugi,” informing Malchikhina of a suspicious power of attorney issued in her name to a person allegedly linked to terrorist organizations. The fraudsters, posing as employees of “Rosfinmonitoring” and an “FSB Captain,” convinced her that she was suspected of collaborating with terrorists. They instructed her to transfer her funds and real estate to a “safe account” for the duration of the investigation, promising its return once cleared.

Under constant contact and psychological manipulation, Malchikhina withdrew her savings from ATMs and eventually sold her apartment for 4.9 million rubles, lower than its estimated value. Despite suspicions raised by real estate agents and bank employees, Malchikhina insisted she was acting of her own free will. She was instructed not to disclose any details of her communications with “Rosfinmonitoring” or the “FSB.”

Malchikhina only realized she had been scammed after the fraudsters ceased contact. She has since reported the incident to the police, who have opened a criminal case under the article on fraud on a particularly large scale. Now left without a home or savings, Malchikhina is seeking assistance from city and district authorities.