A 69-year-old Almaty resident, Svetlana Sukhodolskaya, lost two apartments after speaking with phone scammers who posed as employees of the National Security Committee (KNB). She sold each property for 25 million tenge and handed the proceeds to couriers. Now she is forced to leave the home where she lived for over half a century, reports infohub.kz.

The incident occurred in May 2025. An unknown caller told the pensioner that her digital signature had been compromised. Believing the scammers, Sukhodolskaya signed sales contracts and gave the money to couriers.

“My father received this apartment; he was a disabled World War II veteran, first group. He was blind. We got this apartment in 1972. My father immediately bought this redwood furniture. It's a Czech wall unit, made of redwood,” the victim said.

The investigation lasted a year, but the main fraudster was never identified. Attempts to annul the sale failed, and a court ordered the woman to be evicted. “I've lived in this house, this apartment, for 53 years... I didn't want to get upset. It didn't work out. I packed my things, my conscience is clear, I gave up the keys. So this is how my old age ends, excuse me. What happens next, honestly, I don't know,” she added.

Police arrested the couriers, two Kyrgyz nationals who collected the money from the pensioner. The court sentenced them to 5.5 years in prison and ordered them to compensate the victim. However, Sukhodolskaya said payments are unlikely: “What upsets me most is that the couriers who took my money and passed it to the scammers were ordered to pay me back. Their parents disowned them, so they won't cover the debt. And in Kazakhstan they can't work because they are considered foreigners.”

The pensioner now does not know where she will live. Her son and grandson are abroad. Acquaintances have suggested a nursing home, but she does not want to go. Symbat Nabiyeva, deputy director for social work at the Shanyrak Social Services Center, explained: “Elderly people can be admitted by age, based on their registered residence. They apply to the district social security office – the district department of employment and social programs. They provide a list of documents and submit them, and then write an application at the Public Service Center (PSC) at their registered address.”

Svetlana Sukhodolskaya hopes that the organizers of the scam will be found and punished.