According to the Central Bank, in 2021, fraudsters made 773 thousand transactions without the client’s consent. The amount of damage caused to citizens amounted to 9.7 billion rubles. According to the regulator’s statistics, the share of funds returned to bank clients is 11.3% or 1.1 billion rubles of the total volume of fraudulent transactions.
Photo: Bank of Russia / Screenshot from the “Review of transactions performed without the consent of clients of financial organizations for 2021”
As reported by the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region, for the period January - July 2021, the following was recorded in the region:
- 2901 crimes committed using IT technologies;
- 1,454 crimes involving thefts from bank accounts;
- 17 criminal cases have been initiated on the facts of crimes that have formal signs of the activity of financial pyramids.
The editors of BANKNN.RU talked with an expert and collected information about cases of fraud in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
Why do we fall into the traps of scammers?
Ecaterina Vasca answered this question.
- Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Professor,
- Chief Researcher of the Russian Federal Center for Forensic Science under the Ministry of Justice of Russia (RFTSSE under the Ministry of Justice of Russia),
- chief expert of the Moscow Research Center under the Moscow Government,
- Head of the Center for Legal Psychology in Moscow,
- Professor of the Department of Criminal Law and Process of the National Research Nizhny Novgorod State University. N.I. Lobachevsky (NNSU).
Victims of scammers can include people completely different in character, age, and social status: cautious and impulsive, young and mature, low-income and those living in material prosperity. A lonely and sad person or a carefree and cheerful person often has an equal chance of falling for the bait of scammers, since in addition to personal factors, situational ones are of the greatest importance in our modern reality. For a person immersed headlong in work, whose consciousness is narrowed to the subject of activity, or for a housewife, a pensioner, who is at home in a state of emotional relaxation, an unexpected situation created by a fraudster becomes stressful, the speaker said.
According to her observations, people often fall for the trick of offering money.
Fraudsters offer a person to receive money instantly without any effort, as in the famous fairy tale about Emelya on the stove. The stratification of society into rich and poor often gives rise to a feeling of envy and false justice among a certain category of citizens, so this scheme, unfortunately, works well. No matter how much the media warns, many of the future victims of scammers do not want to understand that free cheese only comes in a mousetrap,” the expert comments.
But there are promotions and offers from organizations that are not illegal actions of attackers.
Since many official commercial offers for citizens are made by real companies, banks, and government organizations, it can be difficult for the average person to distinguish them from fraudulent ones. Attackers often act under the guise of government agencies, so you need to remember: if the state wants to offer you something, like now payments of 10 thousand rubles (a one-time payment to pensioners of 10 thousand rubles, proposed by the President of the Russian Federation - editor's note), this the information will be available and known to everyone, it will be discussed on federal channels. You must be extremely attentive and critical when you are presented with supposedly “confidential information” or made a “special offer”; this is a kind of litmus test, an indicator that reveals a fraudster,” emphasized Ecaterina Vasca.
Use of the name "Government Services"
The Government Services platform is playing an increasingly important role in the lives of Russians . Using the site, you can make an appointment with a doctor, issue payments, and pay fines. Fraudsters did not miss the opportunity to use the name “State Services” in their schemes.
Not long ago, a mass mailing was carried out via Viber, allegedly from State Services, stating that a person has the right to receive compensation. The amounts ranged from 20 to 300,000 rubles. Attached to the message was a link, following which citizens, delighted with the happiness that had arrived, had to fill out a form, indicate their card number, and then pay for the services of a lawyer - 472 rubles, then pay for some other paperwork. As a result, people transferred several thousand rubles to the deceivers. And only when the amounts of transfers go off scale, Vladimir residents begin to doubt and go to their personal account on the State Services. It is easy to assume that there is no information about any unprecedented monetary compensation there. What prevented these people from accessing State Services earlier, before sending the first payment?
“My mother was so happy that she was due a compensation of 25,000 rubles that she didn’t turn her head and immediately began transferring money to the scammers,” Evgenia Pushkareva, office manager of a Vladimir company, told Pro City. “She was even wondering what kind of greenhouse she would buy with this money.” How she cried when she realized that she had been cruelly deceived... She asked me not to tell dad, because he would make fun of her for the rest of her life.
The most popular types of fraud
Phone scam
The attacker introduces himself as a bank employee and talks about transferring money from a card or account. The fraudster communicates in a relaxed manner or, conversely, strictly. He can unleash a torrent of information on the victim. The person does not have time to process a large amount of data, gets lost and does what the scammer demands. This trick, according to our expert, is called “intentional obscurity of speech.”
I often get asked questions: “Are these specially trained people?”, “Is this NLP?”, “Are these some complex technologies?” I really want to answer: “Yes, of course.” But no. These are ordinary people who do not always speak well, and many of them are also in prison. They work using a primitive text - a script, an algorithm of actions with a list of possible responses from a potential victim. Fraudsters read out phrases that can influence a person in a certain situation. We must not forget that there are “born swindlers” who have natural intuition, developed communication skills, who know how to manipulate people and involve them in fraudulent schemes,” explained the doctor of psychological sciences.
An attacker calls on behalf of a loved one. Most often, in this case, the victim is told that this loved one has committed a crime and they need money to help him. Photo: BANKNN.RU
Fraudsters call mothers, say that their son had an accident, used drugs, and they take him to the police. At the same time, the “son’s” voice is completely different, and his own child has never been seen with drugs. However, the mother, despite this, transfers money. Why? By suddenly presenting her with the most psychotraumatic information that is most terrible for her, scammers use the maternal instinct. The version of the danger for a loved one can look so non-standard and catastrophic that critical thinking “turns off”, including a mechanism of action like “there is a danger - you need urgent help.” The way out of such situations is to interrupt the conversation with the scammer and urgently call the relative he is talking about. If for some reason this is not possible, do not be alone! Call other relatives, acquaintances, go to your neighbors. The main thing in this situation is not to be alone with these thoughts and fears for your loved one,” the speaker commented.
The attacker says that he needs to deliver a package to the victim and asks for personal information.
According to Ecaterina Vasca, there are people who cannot hang up out of politeness:
If this is about you, consider that you did not hang up, but simply lost the connection. The same thing happens and there is no need for remorse. And if you think logically, it turns out that you are simply being misled in order to be used later. What kind of politeness are we talking about?!
Internet fraud
You buy a product online.
The scammer asks for an advance payment, and after receiving the money, he stops communicating. In the worst case scenario, victims may be charged more money from their card than originally stated. They purchase goods from you. When the victim of fraud is the seller, the attacker usually requests card details for payment for the goods (including the secret code of the bank card), home address and other personal information. Both telephone and Internet fraud schemes are designed to obtain data. Any personal information gives attackers an advantage, so it should never be disclosed. The exception is when you are completely confident in the result.
The algorithm for the actions of a person who is called or written by scammers is to interrupt communication as early as possible. There is no other way out,” the expert emphasized.
Photo: BANKNN.RU
Fraud in the apartment
Attackers come to citizens' homes under the guise of anyone: from utility workers to doctors and couriers. You can check for yourself whether this person is really who he says he is. Without opening the door, you need to ask him to name the company/service that referred him and call there. According to our speaker, if they tell you that no checks were planned, the scammer will get scared and leave, because your next call may be to the police.
Types of Fraud
- Carding
- Doll (fraud)
- Maternity capital fraud
- Fraud using dating services
- Thimbles (game)
- Homework scam
- Body kit
- A car set-up is a specially staged car accident with the imitation of the fault of another driver in order to receive compensation.
- Calculation
- Measurement
- False advice notes
- Financial Pyramide
- Sale of medical products that cure incurable diseases
- "High-rise building on six hundred square meters"
Mobile fraud
- Fraud
- "A call from a close relative"
- Mobile fraud
Internet fraud
- Vishing
- Phishing
- Click fraud
- Farming
- Dating scams
- "Nigerian Letters"
- Fraudulent online stores
Fraud with plastic cards
Fraudulent schemes using plastic cards based on illegal debiting of funds from accounts were identified and analyzed.
Bank fraud
When bank scammers call you, they usually say:
- The transfer from your card has been completed;
- There is an urgent need to block the account;
- Fraudsters gained access to it;
- They offer to cancel the account and transfer it to another bank, since yours is closing.
“Our citizens need to remember that banks block all fraudulent transactions made with a client’s account on their own without calling the client. Therefore, when they call you from the bank and start telling you that something has happened to your account, it is obvious that they are scammers,” explained Ecaterina Vasca.
Extorting money through instant messengers
Following social networks, scammers have come up with fraudulent schemes for messengers , which are now used by a large number of citizens. The attackers are allegedly raffling off cash prizes. Prize amounts are calculated in dollars. The administrator informs the participant about the victory, but clarifies that Russian law prohibits transfers in foreign currency between residents, so the “bank operator” reports that to convert the currency, a deposit of several hundred rubles is required. After which, in a special form, the “winner” enters his card details, which the attackers hunt for. Subsequently, the fraudsters gain access to the victim’s accounts, which means they have access to his finances.
Sberbank reminds that when converting currency, the commission is not paid separately, it is charged automatically. In order not to become a “winner” of such a competition, it is better to check information about the organizer of the draw, and if this is not possible, then it is better not to participate in a dubious draw.
Financial pyramids
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation announced the boom of financial pyramids in the first quarter of 2021. According to the regulator, during this period their number increased from 58 to 85 units.
The history of financial pyramids began in the 17th century with the British South Sea Company. In Russia, the most famous representative of this scheme is MMM, created by Sergei Mavrodi in 1989.
Another striking example happened in 2021 - Finiko. This financial pyramid collapsed last summer. According to law enforcement data as of August 2021, almost 700 defrauded investors from all over Russia contacted the police.
People continue to invest money in financial pyramids because they believe in a miracle and are waiting for it. We want our money tree to grow like Pinocchio’s, we are looking for a magic pill that will solve all our problems. And sometimes we are looking for a person - this is shifting responsibility. We need everything to be decided for us, and we already get the result. But only the organizer can make money on a financial pyramid, the expert believes.
According to the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region, among 17 crimes with signs of financial pyramids, a criminal case was opened under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud). LLC representatives attracted funds from citizens under the pretext of drawing up loan agreements. The amount of damage caused amounted to more than 1 million rubles.
If telephone scammers can be primitive individuals, then the creators of financial pyramids are manipulators who themselves have the skills of psychological influence on the masses, on specific individuals, or hire people for this. They use all methods of influence, including mental violence. They drag people into pyramids using well-known psychological mechanisms like sects. And people follow the most primitive manipulators. Because potential victims want to go. Supply appears when there is demand,” the speaker noted.
Fake online stores
Among the common schemes to deceive citizens are fake online stores , which are doubles of well-known real sites. In the summer, the websites of carriers are in demand: Russian Railways, Aeroflot, and so on. Online stores are also in demand: either completely unknown to anyone, or “doubles” of official sites. Everything happens as usual: you choose a product or service, enter your card details for payment, the payment goes through, but the money goes into the scammers’ pockets, and the client never receives the service or product. It is quite difficult to recognize doubles, since scammers completely copy the interface of a well-known page and the difference is noticeable only in the address. For example, not the usual “com” and “ru”, but the less commonly used “bz” and similar ones. It’s even more difficult with fly-by-night online stores. To recognize unscrupulous online stores, you will have to study the reviews on the relevant resources.
One of the latest cases uncovered is the detention of the creator of a fake page for the construction of bathhouses. The attacker was detained by police after reports of the theft of money from two local residents. The victims explained that they found a site on the Internet with information about the construction of bathhouses, contacted the contractor and agreed on the construction of buildings. Subsequently, one of the victims gave the scammer 105,000 rubles in deposit, the second - 70,000. After the contractor received the money, he no longer contacted him, and the resource ceased to function. Realizing that they had become victims of deception, the victims contacted the police. The attacker was detained in one of the neighboring regions. He confessed to what he had done. The damage to the victims was only partially compensated.
Uncommon fraud cases
- In April 2021, residents of the Nizhny Novgorod region suffered from a phishing site for a popular pizzeria. After entering bank card details when ordering food, extra debits began to be made from citizens’ accounts. Fraudsters stole 450 thousand rubles from Nizhny Novgorod residents on pizza orders.
- In the summer, a resident of Kstovo became a victim of criminals when choosing a tourist package. She followed the link from an SMS message received from a fake agency employee. According to the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the region, the scammers stole 48 thousand rubles from her.
Photo: BANKNN.RU
There are two more fraudulent schemes, according to which, according to the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region, in January - July 2021, the regional police department did not receive any complaints about fraud. In other regions people suffered from them.
- Issuing a loan without notifying the client
The citizen is credited with a sum of money, and a few days later they call and say that it was a loan from a microfinance organization (MFO).
A friend of mine had a similar case. A person wanted to apply for a loan, went to the company’s website, and left contact information. After some time, 1000 rubles were credited to his account. After another five days, calls and notifications began that he already owed 1,500 rubles, then 2,000, our reader said.
One of the Nizhny Novgorod microfinance organizations commented: “Not a single conscientious company would do this.”
- Lottery Fraud
The Stoloto press service reported that in the first half of 2021, together with Group-IB, 7,460 fraudulent resources disguised as Stoloto state lotteries were blocked. Of these, 7,306 were fraudulent websites, 25 mobile applications, 2 email addresses that sent phishing emails, and 127 fake accounts and groups on social networks.
The more we observe the transition to online, the more sophisticated the actions of scammers become,” noted Ekaterina Tuton, Deputy General Director for Sustainable Development of the S8 Capital holding, which includes Stoloto.
Three Principles of Securities Fraud
For those who plan to invest in the near future and are afraid of encountering scammers, we have collected several basic principles that we recommend paying attention to:
- By choosing a brokerage company in their own country, the investor risks much less than if choosing a company from another country or registered offshore. Of course, this does not provide 100% protection from scammers, but it can reduce risks.
- Investment fraud takes many forms and changes over time. Fraudsters are looking for new ways to find potential victims and inventing new exchange schemes. That is why there is no method that is guaranteed to protect against them. However, with the right approach, problematic situations can be avoided.
- The first line of defense against securities fraud is a healthy dose of skepticism and information that will teach you to recognize a scam when you see one.
- The second line of defense is thorough due diligence, which can eliminate half the brokerages in the first step.
These tips are suitable for beginners, however, even experienced investors regularly encounter scammers. We recommend checking all potential partners, brokers, traders, in short, those who offer you services or promise to make good money in a very short period of time.
Memo:
- You cannot come into contact with scammers: neither by phone, nor on the Internet, nor in person;
- There is only one algorithm: interrupt the conversation and hang up;
- The creators of financial pyramids are manipulators;
- Do not give personal information to strangers;
- Banks block fraudulent transactions on their own without calling the client;
- If a bank calls you, hang up and call them back yourself;
- Only the organizer can receive money in a financial pyramid;
- Anyone can fall into a scammer's trap;
- Free cheese only comes in a mousetrap;
- Telephone scammers are ordinary people uttering prepared texts.
