We have repeatedly written about what methods of fraud there are on the Internet, but it seems that now attackers have begun to work even more cunningly. The most vulnerable social network in this regard is VKontakte, as an entrepreneur and graduate student from Krasnoyarsk learned from personal example. Fraudsters hacked the account of David's wife. We read his personal experience, as well as advice on what to do right now to avoid becoming a victim of scammers.
Microcredit based on passport photo
It all started with a classic story. Friends started writing to David, asking if they really needed money.
It turned out that his wife’s VKontakte had been hacked. My wife reset and changed her password on VKontakte, but here’s a surprise: when you log into your account, the page consistently crashes and logs out after 5-10 seconds.
The man suggested that the scammer connects some kind of bot to the page, which breaks all sessions except the fraudulent one.
To stop the mailing bacchanalia, we asked friends to report spam. After about 20 minutes the page was blocked, and we exhaled. In vain.
This did not end there - a second attempt to lure money began. From an unknown page, a man began writing to David’s friends with a story that he had found his wife’s passport.
To be convincing, he attached a passport photo to the messages, which, apparently, the fraudster found on his personal page. The fraudster also persistently began to find out the woman’s place of work in order to allegedly bring the document there.
After some time, this friend writes to me in a personal message, nervously asking where his wife works, giving several confusing explanations as to why he needs this. Of course, he receives no answer. Yeah, that means now he’s trying to apply for a microloan by sending a photo of his passport and indicating his wife’s personal information. Here we tensed up. The likelihood that something will be approved without proof of identity is, of course, minimal, but you really can’t count on the integrity of these offices.
To be on the safe side, the couple consulted the police and filed a report of attempted fraud. Such actions are necessary if the loan does surface and you need a basis to challenge it in court. In addition, for safety, David sent out a dozen letters to loan offices, warning about the situation. But this story did not end there either. The scammer still managed to get the money.
How to counteract scammers on social networks themselves
Without relying on law enforcement agencies, social network users independently decide how to complain about a scammer in contact.
Actions usually go in two directions:
- appealing to the administration of the social network with a request to block the group engaged in fraudulent activities;
- creating special communities or forums where victims of scammers warn other users, advise what to do in a given situation, or cooperate to file a collective complaint to the police.
Thus, it is possible and necessary to fight VKontakte fraud, but it is best to prevent such cases and be careful.
"Sit down if you're standing..."
During all the fuss, one acquaintance quickly called. He asked if everything was ok with us, and after a few confused words he hung up. After a while he writes to me. He says he got caught and transferred the money. Sit down, if you are standing, now I will write how much... Twenty-four thousand!!! How is this in general? And I thought of calling only after what happened, I realized that I had missed it, and wrote to me. I fell for the classic legend about the expiring loan term. And after everything was revealed, he continued to communicate with this scammer.
The attacker convinced him to send another 6 thousand, but the man no longer fell for this “scam”.
The scammer convinced him that he did not expect that someone would send so much money, he said, send another 6 thousand, since the minimum withdrawal amount from his wallet is 30 thousand, and I will return the money to you. Strongly? Our friend, thank God, did not fall for this trick. And thanks for that.
During their conversation, the fraudster spoke about his craft. He complained that he had to invest a lot in electronic cards and his life was hard.
Scammer phone numbers blacklist
Telephone scams are becoming more common. The blacklists of phone numbers of scammers on the Internet are constantly being updated with new numbers, and attackers are inventing more and more complex scams. All of them are aimed at seizing other people's money or confidential information. Unfortunately, most cases of telephone fraud remain unsolved, since it is easy for attackers to change their phone number. Most often, scam numbers turn out to be registered to non-existent people or organizations.
Of course, modern technical means make it possible to quite accurately track the place where an SMS was sent or a call was made. Therefore, most scams are committed in crowded places, where it can be very difficult to find the criminal. Often calls from attackers are recorded several thousand kilometers from the location of the victim, and even in other countries. In order to avoid becoming a victim of telephone scams, you must observe the following rules of caution.
- You never need to top up the balance of unknown numbers, even if the message came on behalf of a friend or relative;
- If there are any doubts about the information specified in the message, you must double-check it carefully, even if the sender of the SMS is a bank or mobile operator. Using special programs, scammers can indicate any sender name;
- Before calling back to an unfamiliar number, you need to check if it is on blacklists. There are many sites on the Internet containing such information. As a rule, to check it is enough to simply enter the number in the search field of any search engine;
- You should not give your personal information to an unfamiliar interlocutor: address, passport details, bank card number, etc.;
- If the caller introduced himself as a bank employee, it is advisable to ask him several clarifying questions, for example, the address of the branch or contact telephone number;
- You should not agree to requests from strangers to obtain a SIM card (a fraudster may say that he has lost his passport and urgently needs to obtain a SIM card);
- Under no circumstances should you give your SIM card to strangers for use;
- If fraud is detected, you must immediately contact law enforcement agencies and your mobile operator.
When you submit personal ads on sites like Avito.
By participating in all kinds of gift giveaways in stores, lotteries, strange shows, or promotions, customer databases are compiled. Unscrupulous organizations can sell these databases to scammers.
The conclusion follows from this: criminals easily find regular Internet users, figure out what interests you most, collect information and figure out how best to deceive you. Our developed database will help you easily find out which phone number is bothering you.
AND WHERE SUDDENLY THIS LOVE COME FROM?!
Now women are constantly being told that life after 50, as well as after 60 and 70, is just beginning. And that her prince, who logically should have become a king long ago, grow old and die in the arms of his grandchildren, is about to appear at her “house” on social networks.
And what? In the morning, alas, the prince did not knock on the window, but in the evening some elderly military man knocked on the “pm”. Such an impressive man, not even a colonel, but a general! He allegedly found the woman of his dreams and fell in love at first sight. And my heart beat as sweetly and anxiously as in my youth. But this, they say, is not a problem - Valocordin is always at hand.
And the admirer writes so beautifully and sensually in Russian that the lady then cannot sleep for three days. How, one might ask, does a foreign military man know Russian (even with a slightly noticeable accent)? Yes, everything is elementary! In his youth, he studied at a military school in the USSR!
This is the case if the general introduces himself as a citizen of some eastern or even African countries. Well, if a general serves in the US army or, for example, the UK, then he offers to communicate through an interpreter who is supposedly sitting next to him. The general dictates - the translator writes.
It would seem, well, what does it cost a 55-year-old girl (that’s what their fans call them!) to look at herself in the mirror at least once? What do we see in photos on social networks? These are, as a rule, plump aunts with decent shapes (in the kitchen with their grandson and in a colored robe!) or the same aunts, but they only look like retired prostitutes - in fishnet stockings and over the knee boots. In their youth, decent men didn’t look at them, but suddenly there was such love.
Types of scams on the Internet
It is impossible to know all types of scams. And scammers are constantly coming up with new ways to make money by scamming people on the Internet.
Therefore, you need to check any information that arouses interest. Especially the one that concerns financial spending, money, and earnings:
- You can bet on a fixed match or pay for a sports forecast, but lose a large bet.
- You work hard to earn money from games with withdrawal of money, but the invested funds cannot be withdrawn.
- Wager a good amount of money on poker, but the room turns out to be fake and closes.
- Pay for a key to a free program, but do not receive it.
- Start working on Forex, and the site will turn out to be a kitchen without access to the international currency market.
Therefore, one should not be overly gullible. You need to learn to recognize scams. Otherwise, you will learn from your own experience how scammers make money.
MARINES FROM THE AMERICAN DESERT GO ON THE ATTACK
What's next? The spoon is abandoned, the line is tense, it’s time to pull out the fish. And then the general begins to write all sorts of nonsense, which, it would seem, should strain a normal woman, however.
A brave warrior writes that he wants to get married, but due to a military contract in his country, he cannot do this, and there are, say, 8 years left until the end of the contract. Or more. There is only one way out: he secretly flies to Russia, but for this he needs to transfer 30 thousand bucks! But you cannot withdraw your money from your account - this will be immediately detected by the security service!
Moreover, according to the law of the genre, money must be transferred urgently, within a few days, so the victim has no time to “think.” And what? They are translating! They borrow money from friends, take out loans. And the generals immediately disappear.
True, the amount mentioned still forces some women to slow down a little and seek advice not from their girlfriends, but from a person who understands at least something about military affairs. For example, one lady said that the commander of a US Marine brigade (number such and such) from the city N wanted to come visit her for marriage.
So, we simply check on the Internet where the headquarters of this brigade is located. It turns out that in a completely different city on the East Coast of the United States. And we point out to the potential victim the elementary miscalculation of the fraudster, who named the location of the marine brigade as a city that is located far from the sea, in a region of rocky deserts and cacti.
It must be said that cavalier generals do not strain themselves too much and create the most incredible positions for themselves.
— My beloved commands a contingent of UN troops in Libya! - another woman told me proudly. And I simply advised her to check whether there were UN troops in the country where various wild groups were fighting over an oil pipeline? There is a mission, but there are no soldiers in blue helmets.
With my help, grown girls began to see the light. But not everything was so simple, it took a long time to convince them: well, the dream is crumbling! In order to dispel the fog of doubt, he advised them to register on social networks under other names, put up new photos and ask to be friends with their fans.
Here the ladies went crazy for the second time - with indignation. Because the messages received from the handsome overseas men who were “in love” with them were written as if they were carbon copies. And really, why should scammers strain themselves once again, this is not a general’s business! Although they have nothing special to do, there is enough time in the zone.
How to determine who really called you
Criminals have a lot of different tricks, and the project we developed (a database with criminal numbers) helps to expose them to clean water. Of course, there is no exact guarantee that all criminals can be exposed. We show all the information collected on those scammers who have already been exposed, making it possible not to get hooked by them. At the same time, our database is regularly updated, adding telephone numbers of criminals and comments from deceived people.
Thanks to our database, you can not only help yourself, but also expose other criminals. If you were deceived in this way, immediately write a comment and the phone number from which the message came to the database.
How friends and acquaintances set you up
When a person applies for a loan, he often indicates contacts of people who will confirm his solvency.
In regular banks, such data is unlikely to be immediately leaked to fraudsters. But in microfinance organizations and on online loan sites on murky conditions, it’s quite possible.
Will the borrower tell you that they provided your information? More likely no than yes.
