CrimeaPRESS reports:
Cases of remote fraud continue to be registered in Sevastopol. In just one day, three citizens contacted the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Leninsky district, victims of attackers who used messengers and cellular communications in their criminal activities. The total amount of damage caused to the victims amounted to more than 980 thousand rubles.
Acting on a common fraudulent scheme (under the pretext of protecting a bank account), the scammers made a call to a 27-year-old girl and a 25-year-old man and, posing as employees of the Central Bank, reported serious troubles that threatened large losses. Believing strangers, the victims transferred 575 thousand rubles and 402 thousand rubles, respectively, to accounts controlled by the scammers.
In another case, the attackers sent an email to a 68-year-old pensioner asking her to urgently borrow money, posing as her granddaughter. Misled, the elderly woman sent 5 thousand rubles to the criminals.
Based on these facts, employees of the internal affairs bodies have initiated criminal cases under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Fraud” and are taking all necessary measures aimed at solving crimes.
In order to prevent such thefts, the Sevastopol police urge citizens to adhere to precautionary measures. If you receive a call from an unfamiliar number or the logo of a bank or law enforcement agency is displayed on your smartphone, you must remain vigilant when answering the call. Remember that by addressing you by name and patronymic, strangers may introduce themselves as intelligence officers, law enforcement officers, bank employees, or representatives of a government portal. Further, causing a feeling of fear, criminals often report writing off a large sum belonging to you, an attempt to impose obligations on you under a loan agreement that you did not enter into, the theft of your real estate using a false power of attorney, suspicions of you or your loved ones of high treason or other serious crime. To be more convincing, they often send a photograph of a fake official ID, an image of a person in uniform, and even a scanned copy of the “resolution to initiate a criminal case.” Trying to maintain control over a potential victim, scammers often demand continuation of the conversation under the threat of criminal liability for “refusal to cooperate.” Without allowing anyone to comprehend what is happening, criminals, under the pretext of preventing a crime, insist on transferring all savings to “reserve” or “safe” accounts, to obtain a “mirror” loan, and then transfer the received money to them.
When receiving such calls, you should critically perceive the words of unfamiliar citizens, no matter who they appear to be, and remember that real government officials and specialists from financial institutions never make such demands over the phone or conduct interrogations through instant messengers. In order not to be subject to psychological manipulation by criminals, in such a situation we recommend immediately interrupting the conversation and informing the police by calling 102.
If you receive a message from the account of a family member or friend asking you to send money, you should make sure whether your loved one is really contacting you. To do this, it is recommended to call the author of the email back or during the correspondence ask a number of clarifying questions, the answers to which outsiders cannot know. Don’t give scammers the opportunity to steal your savings!
source: press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the city of Sevastopol (based on materials from the legal adviser of the legal group of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Leninsky district, Dmitry Obelov)
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