CrimeaPRESS reports:
Cases of remote crimes against citizens continue to be registered in Crimea. Fraudsters make calls through instant messengers, posing as law enforcement officers and bank employees; advertisements are posted on free classifieds websites and in groups on social networks with offers of work or easy earnings through investments; convince gullible citizens to install third-party applications on their smartphones or follow unknown links. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea, from October 30 to November 5, 61 citizens contacted the police. All applicants were victims of remote scammers.
CALLS.
Over the past week, police have registered 32 statements from citizens who fell for scammers operating through telephone calls. Citizens fall for the tricks of scammers, who receive calls from unknown persons and, using various life situations, defraud their victims of large sums of money.— said the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea.
Three citizens contacted the police with similar statements. Two residents of the Krasnogvardeisky district and a resident of the Leninsky district told the police that they had become victims of scammers operating under the “Your relative was in an accident” scheme. Police officers found out that the applicants received calls from unknown callers. The callers introduced themselves as law enforcement officers and reported that their relatives were responsible for the accident. After which the phone was handed over to false relatives, who reported that not only third parties had suffered, but also themselves, and that they urgently needed a certain amount of money to pay for the treatment of the victims, as well as to resolve the issue of not bringing them to criminal liability. Frightened by such events, citizens, without hesitation for a minute, handed over funds in the amounts of 120 thousand rubles, 260 thousand rubles and 400 thousand rubles to the couriers who arrived at their place of residence.
Of the total number of CALLS, through messengers, including with the logo of one of the leading banks in Crimea, 22 applications were registered over the past week. Most of the cases on the peninsula are registered according to a scheme where fraudsters call applicants from various numbers with logos of well-known banks and introduce themselves as specialists from financial organizations and law enforcement officers. They intimidate victims with stories that unknown people are making suspicious transactions in their accounts and trying to steal money. Then, in order to preserve their savings, they offer to transfer money to so-called “reserve” accounts, convincing citizens that their money will be safe this way and that criminals 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— the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea reminded about the still relevant fraudulent “scheme”.
Thus, over the past week, residents of Simferopol transferred the maximum amount of money to scammers’ accounts. In the first case, the woman transferred about 800 thousand rubles. The applicant said that she received a call in the Telegram messenger from an unknown person who introduced himself as an employee of one of the leading banks. Offering the applicant to keep her savings from the attackers, he persuaded his victim to transfer money to a supposed “reserve” account. Acting on instructions from a false bank employee, the woman was not immediately able to assess what was happening to her. Only after she made the money transfer did she realize that she did not have access to the new bank account.
In the second case, the victim told the police that an unknown person who called him through the Telegram messenger introduced himself as a bank security officer and said that unknown people were trying to apply for a loan in the man’s name. After which, a resident of the Crimean capital was asked to urgently apply for a loan with the same amount, assuring that the money he would transfer would be kept in a safe deposit box, and thus third parties would not be able to cash out the funds approved for the loan. The man, without hesitation, hurried to the nearest bank branch, where he fulfilled the caller’s demands. Having received a loan of 824 thousand rubles, he transferred it to the account dictated by the fraudster.
Similar statements were registered by police in the cities of Yalta, Alushta, Kerch, and Evpatoria. The victims fell for the tricks of scammers who acted through calls to instant messengers with bank logos. Posing as bank employees, the attackers fraudulently received funds from gullible citizens in amounts of more than 120 thousand rubles, 140 thousand rubles, 280 thousand rubles and 390 thousand rubles. Victims of the scammers admitted to the police that they had heard about the scammers’ schemes, but hoped that this would not happen to them.
INTERNET SITES, SOCIAL NETWORKS.
22 cases of fraudulent activity were associated with the use of social networks, instant messengers and Internet sites.
The Kirovsky district police received a statement from a local resident who reported that she had transferred 2 million 134 thousand 984 rubles to the fraudster’s account. As police officers found out, the woman wanted to increase her savings by investing money in a large organization. She even entered into an agreement with a representative of the company, who promised her quick profits. However, after the applicant transferred money for the provision of legal, consulting and analytical services, soon the connection with the representative of the organization was interrupted, and the woman realized that she had fallen into a fraudulent scheme.
A resident of the Simferopol region intended to purchase a car on a free classifieds website. Having selected a suitable option for himself, he transferred about 200 thousand rubles as collateral to the seller. However, immediately after the funds were transferred, the false seller stopped communicating with the buyer.
A resident of Armyansk received a message via messenger. An unknown subscriber offered the woman additional income through a well-known trading platform. The main condition for starting work was to fill out personal data. After the applicant provided the information, funds totaling about 110 thousand rubles were written off from her bank card in two payments.
A resident of Armyansk asked the police for help. The applicant reported that he wanted to purchase a plot of land on a free classifieds website. Having clarified the necessary information and found out all the details, the man handed over his personal data to the fake seller, after which 50 thousand rubles were written off from his bank account, and communication with his opponent was interrupted.
Another victim of the scammer was a resident of the Simferopol region. He intended to purchase construction tools on the Internet. Having gone to the website of a company specializing in this type of product and selected a suitable option, the man went to the payment section and entered personal data. After writing off funds in the amount of more than 16 thousand rubles, the applicant discovered that he had ended up on a fake website.
INSTALLING THIRD-PARTY APPLICATIONS AND FOLLOWING LINKS.
7 citizens fell for the tricks of scammers after following links from an unknown source, as well as by installing a third-party application on their smartphone.
A resident of the Kirovsky district transferred more than 970 thousand rubles to the scammers’ account. According to the applicant, the police established that she received a call from an unknown person who introduced himself as a bank employee. He told the woman that her bank accounts were under threat of hacking by unknown persons. Next, the caller persuaded the woman to install a third-party application on her mobile phone, citing the fact that this way she could protect her savings. However, immediately after downloading and installing the application, all funds were debited from the victim’s account.
The Simferopol police received a statement from a local resident who reported that funds in the amount of 270 thousand rubles were written off from her bank card after clicking on the link. As police officers found out, the woman wanted to increase her savings by investing in one of the large enterprises. In the messenger she even communicated with an “employee of the enterprise” who promised the applicant a quick profit. Having received a link to the site in the messenger, the woman clicked on it, after which funds were written off from her bank account in nine transactions to unknown bank accounts linked to different mobile numbers.
Another victim of the scammers was a resident of the Crimean capital, who lost about 40 thousand rubles. The man explained to the police officers that he had received a message via email stating that he had received a discount on a product in an online store selling household appliances. Attached to the message was a link to the specified store, where a man can choose a product at an attractive price. However, after he clicked on the link and entered personal data, all funds were debited from his card to an unknown account.
A resident of the Simferopol region saw an advertisement for the sale of winter tires in one of the messengers. The price of the product from the false seller was significantly lower than in other advertisements, which attracted the attention of the applicant. After she contacted the seller and clarified all the details, she was sent a link supposedly to pay for the goods. However, after clicking on the link provided by the seller, funds in the amount of about 15 thousand rubles were debited from the woman’s account.
The police once again reminds:
You should never rush to make decisions regarding money. Remember, the safety of your financial assets depends only on you, and only you can decide how to ensure their safety.
Be vigilant and follow the recommendations:
— do not tell anyone your bank card details and PIN code;
— do not provide any SMS codes, even to a bank employee;
— do not confirm transactions that you did not perform;
— 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 links unknown to you that have been sent to you 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 agree to prepayment when buying or selling property through free Internet portals;
— do not follow the instructions of unknown citizens trying to convince you of quick “easy” money — no one is interested in enriching you for free;
— do not give your bank card to strangers.
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 department, or through the official website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea.
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