Almost a hundred people became victims of online scammers in Crimea. And that's just last week

CrimeaPRESS reports:

One of the victims gave 11 million rubles to the criminals.

The police are warning about remote fraud schemes: over the past week, 91 citizens became victims, losing more than 26.7 million rubles. In total, in Crimea, from December 11 to 17, victims gave 26 million 741 thousand 340 rubles to online scammers.

CALLS.

Fraudsters make calls posing as bank employees and law enforcement officers. 56 citizens who suffered from the actions of fraudsters using this scheme contacted the police. People, after talking on the phone with strangers and believing the scammers’ stories, gave them 24 million 261 thousand 136 rubles— reported the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea.

A local resident contacted the Yalta police, whose mother had become a victim of a scammer. The woman received a call from an unknown person who introduced himself as a law enforcement officer and told the woman that her daughter was the culprit of the accident. To compensate the injured party for the damage caused by her daughter, the woman handed over money in the amount of 350 thousand rubles to the courier who arrived at her address. However, it soon became clear that everything was fine with the applicant’s daughter and she had not been involved in an accident.

Using a similar scheme, scammers managed to deceive a resident of Simferopol. She transferred money in the amount of 350 thousand rubles through the arriving courier.

A 65-year-old resident of one of the villages in the Saki region filed a statement with the police. She told the police that the day before she received a call from an alleged bank employee who said that she had a unique opportunity to protect her savings by transferring funds to a secure “reserve” account. The woman, under the clear instructions of a false bank employee, transferred funds in the amount of 200 thousand rubles. After the money was debited from her bank account and the connection with her opponent was interrupted, the woman realized that she had become a victim of a fraudster.

44 of the specified number of CALLS were made through instant messengers, including using the logo of one of the leading banks in Crimea. The total amount of damage is 21 million 054 thousand 865 rubles.

In most cases, scammers call via WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber, using logos of well-known banks, and introduce themselves as specialists from financial organizations or law enforcement officers. They intimidate victims with stories that unknown people are making suspicious transactions in their accounts and trying to steal money. Then they propose, in order to preserve savings, to transfer money to so-called “reserve” accounts, convincing citizens that their money will be safe this way and attackers will not be able to cash it out. However, it is not! Unsuspecting victims transfer large sums to the accounts dictated by the scammers, after which the calls stop, and the victims realize that they do not have access to new accountsnoted the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea.

A resident of Simferopol transferred the maximum amount to the fraudster’s account – 11 million rubles. A resident of the Crimean capital told police officers that an unknown person called him from different numbers via the Telegram messenger, introducing himself as a law enforcement officer, saying that the man’s accounts were under threat. The caller suggested making a transfer to a “reserve” account to save savings, supposedly this would help save money.

The applicant from Yalta said that the scammer also called him through the Telegram messenger and convinced the man to enable screen sharing on his smartphone. After which funds in the amount of more than 530 thousand rubles were debited from the applicant’s account.

Two residents of Simferopol turned to the police department for help. They transferred funds in the amount of 217 thousand rubles and 206 thousand rubles to the fraudster’s account. The applicants told the police that they received calls on Telegram. The callers introduced themselves as employees of one of the leading banks in Crimea and convinced their victims to transfer funds under the pretext of protecting them from fraudsters. The strange calls did not arouse any suspicion among the applicants, since the bank’s hotline number was displayed on the screen. Later it turned out that the scammers were making calls from spoofed numbers.

A resident of the Simferopol region lost 45 thousand rubles. As the police found out, he received a call on Telegram from an acquaintance who asked for a loan. Without hesitation, the man made the transfer. However, it soon became clear that the acquaintance did not call the applicant, and his account was hacked by an unknown person.

INTERNET SITES, SOCIAL NETWORKS.

On free classifieds sites and in groups on social networks, attackers post:

• advertisements for the sale of various goods;
• job offers via Internet sites;
• information about easy earnings through investments.

Over the past week, 26 cases of fraudulent activity were associated with the use of social networks and Internet sites, as a result of which citizens lost 1 million 602 thousand 255 rubles.

A resident of Simferopol transferred more than 116 thousand rubles to the fraudster’s account. She contacted the police with a fraud complaint and said that she had transferred money to the specified account and saw an advertisement for easy money on one of the sites. After clicking on the link, the woman lost her money.

A resident of the Razdolnensky district transferred 35 thousand rubles to the fraudster’s account. The woman told police that she found an advertisement for the sale of a used engine for her car on one of the Internet sites. After checking the details with the false seller, the applicant transferred money to the account indicated by him, after which the connection with her opponent was interrupted.

A resident of Simferopol transferred 25 thousand rubles via Internet banking to the fraudster’s account. As the victim told the police, on one of the sites he made a payment for services that were never provided to him. Money was debited from the account, but no one contacted the applicant.

INSTALLING THIRD-PARTY APPLICATIONS AND FOLLOWING LINKS.

9 citizens lost 877 thousand 949 rubles after following links from an unknown source.

A resident of Dzhankoy saw information about the sale of a scooter on a social network. Intending to purchase a vehicle, the man followed the link that the fake seller sent him and filled out the necessary fields. As a result of entering personal data, the attacker was able to gain access to the applicant’s Internet banking and take possession of his funds in the amount of more than 18 thousand rubles.

A resident of Kerch lost more than 8 thousand rubles. A man posted information on the sale of summer tires for a car on a free classifieds website. After which he received a message from a false buyer, who said that he wanted to purchase the product and attached a link for payment. After a resident of Kerch clicked on it and entered his bank card details, all funds were debited from his account.

A resident of Yevpatoria intended to purchase a down jacket for 1,500 rubles through a free classifieds website. The fake seller convinced the woman to install a third-party application on her smartphone Acting under the guise of a product delivery service resource. However, after the applicant downloaded an unknown application, funds in the amount of 140 thousand rubles were debited from her bank account.

The police once again reminds:

Don’t rush into decisions regarding money. Remember! The security of your financial assets depends only on you.

Be vigilant and follow the recommendations:

— do not believe people who introduce themselves as law enforcement officers and banking employees who report that any transactions are being made with your money account at the moment;

— do not follow unknown links received via messengers from third-party sources;

— do not install applications on your mobile phones that you are hearing about for the first time or do not have detailed information about how they work;

— do not follow the instructions of unknown citizens trying to convince you of quick “easy” money — no one is interested in helping you get rich for free;

— do not give your bank card to strangers.

If you have become a victim of scammers, immediately report it to the police by calling 102 or submit a written statement to any nearest police station.

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