Pensioner loses €500,000 in online property scam

A 68-year-old man has reportedly been scammed out of half a million euros by online scammers who pretended to represent a Limassol-based property management company in a real estate deal.

He reported to police that he was swindled out of €520,000 after he proceeded with a bogus offer to purchase several housing units in Limassol.

The money transfer was made in July, but he only recently made the complaint after realising that the deal was a scam.

He proceeded with the transaction after receiving an email from a company offering to sell housing units in a Limassol complex. The money was transferred to a UK bank account.

When suspecting there was something wrong with the deal, the man contacted the company but was told the money was never received, and neither were they linked to the UK bank account to which the transfer was made.

As it was later revealed, the email sent to the pensioner was fake and had no connection to the local company.

Limassol police are looking into the case.

Following the latest scam, police have warned the public to be wary of online transactions, as complaints from people being scammed are rising.