Duped Elderly Man Loses Fortune After Falling for Intricate Scam via SMS
Man in Krasnodar allegedly fell victim to telephone scam, parting with 3.5 million rubles following a phony "department" call.
In the city of Krasnodar, a 58-year-old man fell prey to a cunning scam, parting ways with a staggering 3.5 million rubles. Now, the local police department is investigating this troubling incident.
The victim recounted his ordeal, stating it began with a call from someone posing as a representative of "Rosseti" — the local energy company. They instructed him to promptly read his meter and verify the request number with a code sent via SMS. Strangely enough, the SMS issued a clear warning: "Do not share this code with anyone."
This wasn't the only twist in the tale. One hour later, another call came through, supposedly from "Rosfinmonitoring," alerting him to a large, overseas transfer of 1.3 million rubles from his account. They pressured him to act quickly and perform additional tasks to block the transfer. Later, someone claiming to be from the FSB (Federal Security Service) became involved, adding another layer of legitimacy to the scheme.
In the end, the victim received a new debit card, emptied his savings accounts, withdrew the money via an ATM, and then funneled it through the ATM to unknown numbers.
A criminal case has been initiated under part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code (major fraud).
The police want to remind citizens that no official government agencies or banks will ever ask for SMS codes. If the SMS suggests not to share, it should be heeded without question.
Earlier, the Kuban police apprehended a Rostov operator of SIM boxes, who provided technical support to an overseas criminal scheme aimed at stealing money from Russian citizens.
Background Information:While definitive statistics on SMS phishing (smishing) targeting energy companies and financial institutions in Russia are hard to come by, cyberspace has seen a surge in cyber threats globally. These consist of phishing attacks, including scams sent as SMS messages, often seeking sensitive data like SMS codes [4]. In recent times, there's been a surge in phishing campaigns using Russian domains, though the main focus has been on credential harvesting rather than targeting specific sectors like energy and finance [5].
In Russia, scams utilizing fake phones, or "zero-click attacks," are more frequent, predominantly directed at cryptocurrency holders [2]. However, the usage of SMS for malicious actions is on the rise, with smishing being a tactic employed by scammers worldwide to send unwanted messages requesting sensitive information, like SMS codes [4]. While detailed information on this trend in Russia is scarce, it's reasonable to speculate that similar tactics may be employed in Russia to target various sectors, including finance and energy, by requesting SMS codes.
To stay safe from such scams, it's crucial for individuals to exercise caution when receiving unsolicited messages, especially when they request sensitive data like SMS codes.
- The police in Rostov previously apprehended a SIM box operator from the city, who reportedly supported an overseas criminal scheme that aimed to steal money from Russian citizens via smishing.
- Strangely, the SMS the victim received warned not to share the code, a clear sign that it was likely part of a smishing scam.
- The General-news and Crime-and-justice sectors have been alarmed by the increasing use of smishing tactics to target sensitive data, like SMS codes, not only in Russia but globally.
- In light of this, Rosfinmonitoring, energy companies, and banks wish to remind citizens that they will never ask for SMS codes, and any such request should be treated with extreme caution to avoid falling victim to fraudulent activities.
