Nataliia Zherzhevska Scam Report: Border-Bribe Travel Scam from Ukraine

The woman introduced herself as Nataliia Zherzhevska from Ukraine. She communicated intensively with the victim for about four weeks, building trust and promising to visit him in Germany.

At first, she requested €300 allegedly for a bus ticket and health insurance. A few days later, she claimed the amount was insufficient and asked for an additional €200. Since she supposedly did not have her own PayPal account, she convinced the victim to send money to a “friend’s” account.

Before her planned departure, she asked for another €300, explaining that border control would require her to show proof of sufficient funds to travel abroad.

On the day of her supposed trip, she sent a dramatic message claiming that Ukrainian border guards had stopped her because she had medical training and was therefore subject to military service. She then requested a €2,000 bribe to be allowed to cross the border — which the victim transferred.

Ten minutes later, she sent yet another message saying that she had reached a “second checkpoint” and that another €1,000 was needed to pass. At this point, the victim refused to send more money.

Immediately afterward, Nataliia Zherzhevska broke off all contact and disappeared. The victim never heard from her again.

This is a classic example of a “travel-to-Europe” scam, where the scammer plays on the victim’s emotions, creates urgency, and invents obstacles such as border issues, visas, or bribes to extract repeated payments.