Greek Cypriot woman scammed of €15,000 by an unknown person who promised her inheritance

A Greek Cypriot woman has reported that she had been scammed of €15,000 after accepting a friendship request by a stranger on social media.

Police in south Cyprus said they are investigating the a case of fraud after receiving a complaint from a woman living in Paphos.

The woman told the police that an individual had sent the request two years ago and had introduced herself as a woman living in a European country.

They began exchanging messages and the stranger told the Paphos woman that she had been taken seriously ill and would be naming her as her heir to €60,000 claiming to have no relatives.

She asked the woman to send her a photograph of her ID card and her telephone number. A few months later, their communication suddenly stopped.

Soon afterwards, various strangers started contacting the woman, posing as lawyers of the supposed dead friend and requested fees to arrange the inheritance.

Between 2023 and 2025, the woman sent a total of around €15,000 to the strangers allegedly to facilitate the inheritance transfer., before realising she had been a victim of fraud and reported the case to the police.

The police call on the public to be cautious in all online dealings.