During the New Year holidays, Crimeans “gave” more than 13 million rubles to remote scammers

• fake calls/calls in instant messengers, criminals pretend to be law enforcement agencies, trying to find out personal information or force them to transfer money;

• luring money through social networks: attackers create fake accounts of familiar users, asking for help in the form of money transfers;

• investment in company shares: scammers offer potential investors to invest money in shares of some promising company, claiming that the value of the shares will soon increase sharply. Typically, such investments promise high returns with minimal risks;

• installing third-party applications and following links.

Calls from scammers

A resident of Feodosia was contacted by mobile phone by an unknown person who introduced himself as a suspect in a previously committed fraud against her — the woman, at the behest of the swindlers, transferred 500 thousand rubles. The man said that he could return the lost funds, but they were allegedly in a frozen account. To “unfreeze” it was necessary to pay a fine. Despite the fact that after the first incident the woman had already contacted the police, where she was warned against transferring funds to unknown persons, she again trusted the attacker. Following his instructions, the resident paid a “fine” in the amount of 20 thousand rubles. After this, the connection with “virtue” was interrupted, and she never received the promised funds. Realizing that she had again become a victim of scammers, the victim contacted the police again.

Fraudsters operate through websites, social networks and instant messengers

A resident of Feodosia contacted the police with a report of fraud. She reported that a girl who introduced herself as a marketplace manager contacted her through a social network and offered additional income. It was required to purchase certain goods of average cost on an online trading platform and leave positive reviews. For such work, the woman was promised a refund of the money spent and 20% of the profit. At first, the money was actually transferred, which strengthened the victim’s trust in the “employer.” However, soon the manager began offering to purchase more expensive goods, promising more income. And the woman was not alarmed that all this time she was transferring money for her purchases to third-party cards with foreign names. And after making significant amounts of money, payments stopped altogether, and contact with the “manager” was lost. Thus the Crimean woman lost more than 112 thousand rubles

A resident of Sudak, looking through advertisements for car sales on the website, looked for a suitable option. He contacted the seller, who said that the car was located in another region and an advance payment was required for its delivery. Trusting the words of the unknown man, the man translated 270 thousandhowever, after this the seller stopped communicating, and the car was never delivered. Realizing that he had become a victim of fraud, the victim contacted the police.

A resident of Kerch received a message via messenger from a stranger who introduced himself as an employee of the Gosuslugi portal. Under the pretext of protecting personal data and safety of funds, the man convinced the Kerchanin to transfer 78 thousand rubles to the so-called “safe account”. After transferring the money, communication with the “employee” was interrupted. Realizing that he had become a victim of scammers, the victim contacted the police.

A resident of the city of Saki contacted the police. The man explained that he received a message in the messenger from his son’s account asking him to borrow money. Having trusted, he translated about 7 thousandhowever, it soon became clear that the son did not send any messages, and his page was hacked by scammers

Fraudsters force you to install third-party applications and send malicious links

A resident of the Saki district posted an offer for the sale of a crib on an advertisement website. An unknown person contacted him, expressing a desire to purchase the product, and sent him a link to complete the purchase. After clicking on it, the man entered his bank information, which should have received payment. However, instead the account was debited 90 thousand rubles Realizing that he had become a victim of scammers, the victim contacted the police.

A resident of Feodosia fell for a similar trick. The woman wanted to purchase an air fryer and followed the link sent by the “seller.” By entering her details on a fake website, she lost 15 thousand rubles.

How to protect yourself from such threats?

To avoid such troubles, it is important to follow a few simple rules:

1. Never share your personal information with strangers, especially card numbers, verification codes and passwords.

2. Check the reliability of online resources before making online purchases.

3. Be careful with suspicious emails and messages containing links or downloads.

4. Don’t believe in “safe accounts” – IT’S A SCAM!

5. Don’t panic – real law enforcement officials and banks do not require money transfers.

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

source: press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Crimea