Over the past week, 73 Crimeans became victims of remote scammers

CALLS

Fraudsters make calls posing as bank employees and law enforcement officers.

30 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 6 million 909 thousand 760 rubles.

A resident of Alushta filed a complaint with the police. He told the police that the day before he received a call from an alleged bank employee who reported a unique opportunity to secure his savings by transferring funds to a safe “reserve” account. The man, under the clear instructions of a false bank employee, transferred funds in the amount of 1 million 67 thousand rubles. After the money was debited from his bank account and the connection with his opponent was interrupted, the man realized that he had become a victim of a fraudster.

A local resident contacted the Yalta police because she 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 said 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 funds in the amount of 724 thousand 185 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 465 thousand 967 rubles through the arriving courier.

21 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 3 million 752 thousand 541 rubles.

In most cases, scammers call via WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber, using logos of well-known banks, pose 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 accounts.

A resident of the Simferopol region transferred the maximum amount of money to the fraudster’s account – 524 thousand 960 rubles. The man told the police that an unknown person called him via WhatsApp messenger, who introduced himself as an employee of one of the stock exchanges and, under the pretext of earning money, took possession of the applicant’s funds.

A resident of Yevpatoria lost 182,000 rubles. As the police found out, he received a call on Telegram from an unknown person who introduced himself as an employee of one of the leading banks in Crimea and reported that suspicious transactions with funds were taking place on the applicant’s account. Taking advantage of the man’s trust, the fraudster fraudulently took possession of the money.

An applicant from Simferopol said that the fraudster called him through the Telegram messenger and introduced himself as an employee of one of the Crimean banks. Under the pretext of transferring funds to a “reserve” account, since attempts were allegedly recorded to write off money from the applicant’s account, by turning on the screen broadcast, a false bank employee took possession of the applicant’s money in the amount of 21,250 rubles.

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, 33 cases of fraudulent activity were associated with the use of social networks and Internet sites, as a result of which citizens lost 3 million 228 thousand 472 rubles.

A resident of the Simferopol region transferred more than 357 thousand rubles to the fraudster’s account. She contacted the police with a complaint about fraud and said that she had found an advertisement for part-time work on the Internet. Later, an unknown person wrote to her on a social network and, under the pretext of earning money by leaving positive reviews, took possession of the applicant’s funds.

A resident of the Pervomaisky district transferred 54,300 rubles to the fraudster’s account. The woman told police that she found an advertisement for the sale of a pit bike on one of the Internet sites. After checking the details with the false seller, the applicant transferred money for the goods to the account indicated by him, after which the connection with her opponent was interrupted.

A resident of Simferopol transferred 8 thousand 500 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

10 citizens lost 678 thousand 317 rubles after following links from an unknown source.

A resident of the city of Evpatoria intended to sell a fur coat through a free classifieds website. The false buyer, under the pretext of buying an item, convinced the woman to follow the link he sent. However, after this, funds in the amount of more than 70 thousand rubles were debited from the citizen’s bank account.

A resident of Yalta received a call from an unknown person in the Telegram messenger and introduced himself as an employee of one of the Crimean banks. Under the pretext of an attempt by unknown persons to issue a loan to an interlocutor, the stranger convinced the woman to install a malicious program on her mobile phone, with the help of which he gained access to the bank’s personal account and stole funds in the amount of 23,600 rubles from the bank account.

A resident of Feodosia lost more than 3 thousand rubles. An unknown person, using one of the popular social networks, under the pretext of providing transportation services for citizens, took possession of the applicant’s money, which was debited from her bank account after she followed the link sent by the unknown person to pay the bail. But the woman never received transport services.

The police once again remind: Don’t rush into making 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 present themselves as law enforcement officers and banking employees who report that any transactions are being made with your money account right away;
• do not follow unknown links received to you via messengers from third-party sources;
• don’t install those 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.

Remember! Law enforcement officers and banks do not call via Telegram, Viber, WhatsApp.

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.

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