Born in the USSR: a new scheme of investment fraud has been revealed
A new fraud scheme has been revealed in Russia — intruders allegedly from the company GazInvest offer to receive dividends from the sale of natural resources to citizens born in the USSR. To do this, you need to leave your full name and contact information on one of the fake sites. Then the operator contacts the user and suggests investing in the company first, after which it will supposedly be possible to generate income. In fact, fraudsters extort money and gain access to the victim's documents for use in criminal schemes.
How the fraudulent scheme works
A new scheme of investment fraud has been revealed in Russia, Izvestia has learned. The editors independently tested the new method of deception. It turned out that the attackers were hiding behind alleged government payments from Gazinvest. Fake resources report that since June 1, Russians born between 1960 and 1991 (that is, those born in the USSR) have received large dividends from the sale of the country's natural resources. Despite this caveat, verification is open to everyone.
The website suggests checking your entitlement to receive payments. To do this, the user is asked to enter their full name and phone number. After that, an alleged "check in the state database" is displayed, as a result of which it turns out that the person is eligible for payments.
— Congratulations! You have been successfully found in the lists for receiving dividends. Wait for a call from a GazInvest specialist for more detailed information,— the Izvestia correspondent said on the website.
Then the user is contacted by the operator or an alleged representative of the company, who explains that in order to generate income, you must first invest a certain amount in a fake GazInvest. According to legend, these "investments" are necessary to activate the dividend account or complete the last stage of registration. They promise that after that the user will receive money. But in fact, there is no payment. All invested funds go directly to the scammers, and the sites and operators disappear after the money transfer.
Izvestia sent a request to the press services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the company.
A law enforcement source told the editorial board that more than 20 cases have already been reported. For example, unknown persons, posing as employees of the GazInvest investment fund, deceived a 66-year-old Muscovite. First, he transferred 350 thousand rubles to them, then, at their request, he sold his apartment for 8.5 million and transferred the money to the scammers. The total damage amounted to almost 9 million rubles. A criminal case has been opened.
Another case was recorded in St. Petersburg. A 79-year-old woman and her husband received a call from unknown people who urged them to make money on investments through the alleged GazInvest platform. As a result, the couple transferred 5 million rubles to the scammers. The issue of initiating a criminal case is being resolved.
There was a similar story in Tomsk, where a pensioner lost almost 1.25 million rubles by believing an advertisement allegedly by Gazinvest on the Internet. He was promised a profit, but for this he had to "invest" — the money went to the scammers. In Kostroma, the victims received messages on WhatsApp (owned by Meta, a company recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation) from unknown people who introduced themselves as employees of Gazinvest. They were offered to make money on investments — as a result, the couple transferred 450 thousand rubles to the scammers.
Such a scheme is not new, but has a hybrid similarity with previously used schemes that work very well with the elderly part of the population, as they inspire some hope for improving the quality of life, said Daniil Chernykh-Aipov, lawyer, member of the Council of the Moscow Regional Branch of the Russian Bar Association, Deputy Chairman of the Sulim and Partners Bar Association. He added that scammers actively exploit names that are associated with well-known companies.
Since the beginning of the year, the neural networks of Yandex Browser have identified 30 thousand new fraudulent investment sites. One in five of them used the names of companies from the gas industry, the Yandex press service told Izvestia.
Yandex caller ID users report daily unwanted calls from people offering "investment offers" or "payments to the public." In some cases, the attackers offered to register on websites created to steal an account from Gosuslug, they noted.
How to protect yourself from scammers
Investment schemes are based on people's desire to make money easily or a sense of social justice. Scammers create plausible websites that promise "legitimate dividends," "income from natural resources," or other lucrative opportunities, said a data analyst at the <url>/ Domain Coordination Center.Russian Federation Evgeny Pankov. Then they push the victim to "invest" or "make payments": they ask them to transfer funds to the platform's balance, pay a commission, undergo verification, or provide details for transferring funds.
— As a result, a person transfers money, transfers passport data or bank card details, and in some cases even installs a malicious application. Investment fraud is far from a new, but a popular type of deception that continues to bring fraudsters profits due to the gullibility of users, the expert said.
According to him, the first thing that should alert you is the promise of fast earnings, ultra—high interest rates and other "unique and profitable opportunities." You can verify the authenticity of an online resource using the free Whois+ service, which allows you to get complete information about the domain and its administrator.
The user should pay attention to domains — reliable companies register them for a legal entity, as well as for the registration date — official resources have usually been operating for many years, and fraudulent ones appear and disappear within a few days, he noted.
The AppSec Solutions press service suggests that you do not access websites from unverified emails and messages, even if you receive a personal offer. In addition, users must enable two-factor authentication on social networks and instant messengers, as well as install an antivirus.
In addition, fake resources can be accompanied by positive feedback from people who allegedly received payments to lull potential victims, said Olga Altukhova, senior content analyst at Kaspersky Lab. The company recommends that users be critical of any offers of easy money online and check whether the organization is actually implementing a particular program, and use a security solution that will help identify a phishing or scam resource in time.
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