Development cellular was not only a breakthrough in the field of information technology, but also opened up new opportunities for fraudsters.

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Unfortunately, telephone operators they are still silent about this, and the law enforcement agencies did not manage to develop a unified strategy to combat this type of crime. Because in individual cases telephone fraud is not subject to a specific article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. To clarify the situation even a little, it is necessary to consider the most popular types of telephone cheating.

Call me

Usage mobile communications does not always lead to a violation of the law. Therefore, this is often used by different companies, making money on the ignorance of citizens. Such schemes are often used by credit organizations, which all the time forget to tell their borrowers about the amount of penalties for late payments.

There was even one interesting story on this topic.

The recipient of the loan for known reasons has made a delay in the loan. At the same time, he left a paid number to contact the bank. After a while, the employees of the credit institution began to regularly call the borrower and remind them of the resulting delay. A month later, the subscriber's account accumulated an amount that fully covered the amount of delay. Naturally, the borrower went and paid off the debt.

As a result, everything happened according to the boomerang principle, the bank did not warn the borrower about the amount of penalties, and he did not warn them about the paid number.

However, the moral of the story is that citizens stop naively trusting everything they hear, including over the phone.

Scam statistics

Based on international statistics, the size of the total losses of mobile operators about fraudsters fluctuates at the level 2–6% from the total traffic volume. In monetary terms, it is about $ 25 billion annually.

For comparison, we can consider Moscow companies, which lose only 100-200 thousand dollars a year due to fraudsters.

However, this is not a reason to relax. Indeed, over the past few years, the number of recorded cases of fraud has doubled. Some sources claim that about 10% of Russians fall for the bait of telephone scammers.

Why do people fall for criminals

The reasons why scammers manage to deceive conscientious citizens are very diverse.

These include:

• desire for easy money;
• lack of basic self-defense skills;
• fear for relatives;
• fear of publicity;
• curiosity;
• credulity.

Popular types of phone scams

As statistics show, the telephone has long been a weapon of criminal production.

Some of the most popular types of phone scams include:

• money transfer;
• prize winnings;
• deceiving account replenishment;
• false cop;
• calls or SMS to premium numbers.

Transfer me money, mom

Fraudsters often take advantage of a person's weaknesses. According to consultant psychologist Irina Popova, Russians are characterized by increased anxiety. An important role in this issue is played by the turbulent situation in the country, periodic terrorist attacks.

Therefore, many residents of the country immediately panic after receiving a phone call.

For example, after the terrorist attack at Domodedovo airport, mobile operators recorded a rapid increase in messages “Mom, I'm at the airport. Transfer money to your phone. I'll explain everything later. " The operator blocked many numbers after checks. Moreover, the majority of such messages came from persons who are serving sentences in places of deprivation of liberty. The security officials explain this by the fact that the prisoners are trying to earn as much as they can.

Even in everyday life, scams of this type happen. So, the phones of citizens receive SMS from an unfamiliar number of similar content. Gullible and compassionate parents in a hurry transfer the required amount to replenish the phone, and after a while the child is announced and the deception is revealed. Often people do not even file a fraudulent complaint because the amount of the transfer, in their opinion, is insignificant. At the same time, the total income of criminals per day from fraud of this kind can be several thousand rubles a day.

You won a prize

Prize to the studio - these words sounded every time the corresponding playing field fell on the reel of the famous TV show "Field of Miracles". Perhaps, this is how the name of the next scammer's trick "Call to the radio" was born.

An unknown girl calls the subscriber and introduces herself as a radio worker. After that, he declares in a joyful voice that the person has won a certain prize, which is in the studio. Accordingly, in order to pick it up, the subscriber will need to come to them. The only drawback of this win is the small VAT. At the same time, the issue of paying tax can be resolved remotely, by transferring money to a specific account number. You can even use an express payment card to do this.

No matter how trite it is, but 1/3 of subscribers agree to pay tax in the amount of 100-200 rubles.

Another company invented a scam using the capabilities of the mobile operator "Beeline". She sent SMS to the numbers of several hundred subscribers. The recipients were asked to send four paid messages to a short number. This was necessary in order to activate an account with 1 thousand batch sms and receive a possible prize in the amount of 20 dollars... Subsequently, the mobile operator cut off the company's number and even wanted to sue it. But, the prospects for this appeal to the judicial authority were very vague. After all, the company did have prizes.

Pseudo-account replenishment

This fraudulent trick usually mimics the activity of a mobile operator's service center. Unknown persons who have the skills to work in a call center call the subscribers of a particular company.

The leitmotif of the unexpected call is a profitable offer for switching to new tariff.

At the same time, the cost of servicing the package does not change. If a person is interested in this offer, then he is asked to activate the new tariff using an express payment card. In other words, the subscriber just needs to replenish his account.

After a while, the scammers call back and say that the card was bought by them, after which they redirect the subscriber to automated system replenishment of the account. Then the voice of the answering machine asks the victim to switch the telephone device to tone mode and introduce secret code cards. At the end, the subscriber is informed about the replenishment of the account and the activation of the new tariff.

The scammers focus on decrypting the entered numbers. For this, special computer programs... After the number is recognized, the fraudsters simply transfer the contents of the card to their numbers. Of course, this trick is ineffective. On average, 5 out of 100 people come across it. However, even low efficiency allows fraudsters to regularly replenish their mobile phone accounts.

False cop

An equally interesting scheme is used by scammers, playing on parental feelings. Its essence boils down to the fact that at night a call comes from an unknown number to the victim's phone. An unknown person addresses the sleepy subscriber by name, patronymic and informs that his child is at the police station.

To thicken the colors, the parent is notified of resistance to law enforcement officers.

Sometimes they even convince the subscribers, frightened to death, that their child scratched the face of one of the policemen during the arrest. As a result, there is a question about the registration of the offender under a completely different article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

If you want to solve the problem before it becomes overgrown with the materials of the criminal case, you can prepare a modest sum of 10 thousand rubles. Our people will drive up to you within 30 minutes. As a rule, scammers rely on the fact that the child does not live with his parents. In addition, at night it is very difficult to find out about his whereabouts. Naturally, if parents manage to quickly get through to their child, then the scammers' plan will fail. However, sometimes such schemes work, and scammers manage to hide before the deceived parents understand what happened.

The scheme with a fake accident is more effective. Usually, such tricks take place when fraudsters know for sure that the culprit of a far-fetched traffic accident turns off his phone at night. As a result, there is no way for parents to check where their child is.

Advanced scammers have come up with the new kind deception. They pre-record the voice of the potential victim on a dictaphone. But in order not to cause any doubts, this is done under the guise of a poll. Then from different words a certain blank is glued together to convince parents that their child is in danger. Often, in the presence of such arguments, it is not difficult for a false investigator of the traffic police to instill in parents the idea of ​​the need to resolve the issue peacefully, while the protocol has not yet been properly drawn up.

This is also evidenced by individual statistical reports. For example, recently law enforcement officers exposed a group of fraudsters on the territory of the Vladimir region, which in just a few months managed to fool 56 people... The victim was inflicted material damage at the rate of 0.5 million dollars.

Investigators say the crooks didn't even bother looking for a victim, but simply dialed random numbers. An extremely low percentage of subscribers came across their tricks, but, due to the size of the cost of services, this was enough. On average, scammers demanded from 10 to 30 thousand dollars from one person.

At the same time, parents often managed to get through to the phone number of their child who got into an accident. But to their surprise, the phone was answered by the same traffic police officer who allegedly seized the offender's phone. While in fact the scammers were equipped with equipment that allows them to intercept incoming call... Such a device usually works in the event that the car with the device is located near the victim's house. However, representatives of the MTS company exclude the possibility of fraudsters using such equipment. According to the representative of the mobile operator Pavel Nefedov, any interference from the outside is immediately caught by the center of operation of the radio subsystem.

Calls to premium (and very expensive) numbers

This type of fraud has been rampant in Japan for a long time. In his native language he was called "Wan-giri" or in other words "One call". The essence of this telephone trick is that an unknown person dials a number and, without waiting for the subscriber to pick up the receiver, drops the incoming call. In this case, the expectation is that the person will call back out of curiosity to find out who called him and why. After a while, the victim notices that there has been a significant decrease in the balance on the account.

The conclusion suggests itself that it is better not to call back unknown subscribers who hang up. Otherwise, such a call can be very costly.

Another common trick is veiled under the services of a mobile operator. The subscriber receives a message in which he is offered to call a specific number. For participating in the competition, the victim is promised an account replenishment in the amount of 3 dollars... In some cases, the money is actually credited to the account after the call. However, the subsequent charges for the call usually exceed the amount of the fee.

An equally interesting case was in Samara. Here, local craftsmen registered a company and issued about 10 numbers for it from a mobile operator. Using a contract service, the comrades convinced Vietnamese merchants that they would be able to call their home countries for only 10 rubles. in a minute. As practice has shown, there was an increased demand for the service. The Vietnamese did not skimp on conversations with their relatives. As a result, they talked about the total amount of 5.8 million rubles.

After the operator did not wait for payment from the newly-made firm, he sent a statement to law enforcement agencies. The fraudsters were caught before they managed to escape. As experts explained, such an outcome is very rare. After all, if the scammers hadn't played with the harvest, they could have been looking for them for a long time.

We must fight!

To stop phone fraud, citizens need to understand that this problem really needs to be fought. Experts recommend cooperating with a mobile operator and notifying him every time suspicious situations arise.

Where to file a complaint?

If the subscriber has become an alleged victim of fraudsters, then he must immediately inform his operator about the attempted fraud and indicate the phone number from which the strange SMS came. When transferring money to unknown persons, you can try to write a statement to the mobile operator about their return.

However, there are no guarantees that they will be returned.

Sometimes there is a refund, but on condition that the transfers were carried out within the same network. If the fraudsters demand money for the release of relatives, then you can throw the pipe or report to the law enforcement agencies.

How to confirm a deception?

Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to fix certain types of telephone deception. In addition, scammers change phone numbers very often.

Therefore, subscribers only need to keep in touch with the mobile operator and try not to disclose their personal data to third parties, including bank card details.

If the fraudsters appear to be law enforcement officers, then it is advisable to immediately contact the police.

Tricky schemes of cellular operators

The technological world is constantly improving and developing. Along with it, new types of fraudulent activities appear, aimed at taking money away from gullible people. One of the most common is phone trickery. Despite the intensification of the fight against various types of fraud, it is telephone fraud that remains unpunished in 95% of cases. This is due to the fact that the existing bases did not cover all criminals, and the prescribed punishment is not enough to make such crimes unprofitable for fraudsters. Telephone scammers: numbers and a list of telephone scammers - this knowledge will allow you to protect a person during financial transactions or unexpected calls with a request to transfer money.

In order to avoid becoming a victim of deception, telephone crime, or deliberate fraud, you need to know what tricks people go to to get hold of the funds of gullible citizens. First of all, it should be remembered that today you can easily change your existing mobile phone number (it is from them that in most cases dubious calls come). At the same time, complete anonymity remains, so criminals manage to avoid being blacklisted for a long time.

A feature of scams involving phone numbers is that they can be registered on completely innocent people. The real scammers manage to stay in the shadows.

In order not to fall on the hook of swindlers, you should know not only where to look at the black list of phone numbers of scammers, but also by what methods they manage to commit crimes. There are several common and well-established schemes that do not lose their relevance for years, bringing considerable profit:

• Calls to parents;
• Love calls;
• Working / shopping on the Internet;
• Phone problems;
• Paid code;
• Sad story;
• Money transfer error;
• Calls from the person's mobile phone operator service;
• Blocked credit card;
• A prize won by a person.

Also, various draws can be attributed to dubious types of earnings, where a prerequisite is to make a call to a phone number and pay for every minute of the conversation.

Learn more about each type of fraud

Calls to parents or other relatives

Calls to parents or other relatives - a certain person calls and introduces himself as a friend, acquaintance of his daughter or son. Further, a story is told that a crime was committed (its type can be different - from hooliganism to the commission of an accident) and a certain amount of money is required. Sometimes a "policeman" is involved in the conversation, who is supposedly in charge of the case or is investigating this problem. A victim of this type of fraud is set the minimum terms for making a payment - from a few minutes to 1-2 hours. In 95% of cases, attackers make calls at night, so that a person cannot quickly navigate what is happening. The peculiarity of deception - scammers indicate a specific account to which money is required to be transferred, sometimes it is an ordinary card or phone number.

Love calls or flirting

Love calls or flirting is an equally common type of phone scam. Its essence is as follows: the victim's number receives a call, as soon as the person answers, the call is immediately interrupted. Fraudulent actions will work if a person calls back at the specified number - the girl answers him, she says that she simply made a mistake with the number, but does not refuse further conversation. The catch is that billing is very expensive and a decent amount is debited from the victim's number for a short conversation.

There is a database of fraudsters' phone numbers, which was formed as a result of people's appeals and complaints about text messages (SMS) with requests to return the money mistakenly deposited into the account or, as an option, with a request to call back to specified number, since there is no money in the account. Affectionate terms are used, such as "bunny" or "cat", which does not allow you to immediately recognize the deception, especially if the message arrives late at night. It is important to remember here that the number to which the message is sent is paid, the amount for a text SMS is debited much more than the victim's tariff suggests.

Internet offers

Work, shopping or various paid offers on the Internet - scammers use a rented phone number, which is a paid one. Most often, an advertisement for the work or sale of a product is placed on special sites. Peculiarity - big discounts for products, promotions or special working conditions with high earnings with minimum employment - 1-3 hours a day. The victim of the scammers calls the phone specified for contacts, they answer him, but they say that it is necessary to wait 1-2 minutes, after that they explain that the selected product is sold or the vacancy is already occupied. As a result, 5-10 minutes of conversation pass, and an impressive amount is debited from the account of the caller.

Paid code

Paid code - this type of scam is based on real codes that are intended to help subscribers mobile networks... With their help, you can transfer funds from one to another number or call at the expense of another person, but not everyone remembers the real numbers of such codes. This is what swindlers use - calls are made from a number hidden from other people on behalf of a mobile operator. The essence of the call is that a person is asked to check the serviceability, since work is supposedly being carried out to improve the functionality. Also, as an option - the performance of a specific subscriber number. The person is sent a code that will need to be entered on the phone. After completing this action, all the subscriber's money on the account goes to the account associated with the number of the calling fraudster.

Sim card problems

Problems with the person's SIM card. In this case, the victim also receives a call from a representative of the cellular operator (in in this case Are scammers). The meaning of the call is that the victim is informed that there are some problems with his number. In order to correct them, scammers ask to send a certain text to the indicated (dictated) number, of course, it is paid.

Sad story

Sad story - this type of scam involves phone call a person in which the interlocutor tells that his relative is in the hospital needs to put money, since he does not have funds in this moment time (lost my job, urgent repair). The victim in most cases tries to get into the situation, and transfers funds. Another option is that a person is approached right on the street with the same history, but they are asked to call, since his own phone is discharged. The bottom line is the following - the owner of the number is either the fraudster himself or his accomplice, the number to which the call is made is paid. The victim is deprived of all funds on the balance sheet.

Money transfer error

Money transfer error - this type of fraud is still popular today. A person receives a message that his balance has been replenished with a certain amount - usually 200-300 rubles, but sometimes the amount can reach several thousand. Immediately after that, a call comes from the fraudster with a request to return the funds. To do this, you need to dial the code. If a person types in the wrong number of zeros, then the amount goes to the swindler's account. Alternatively, the account may not be replenished, the message arrives using special program... If a person agrees to a refund, then he transfers his own money. Such methods of deception are aimed at older people to a greater extent.

Calls on behalf of a mobile operator

Calls on behalf of a mobile operator - this scam assumes that the scammers are calling their victim, posing as a mobile operator, reporting that a roaming call was made from this number without appropriate notification. At the moment, there is a penalty debt on the room, which must be paid. This can be done by purchasing several top-up cards. A person only has to dictate the codes from these cards to the "operator".

Imaginary card blocking

Another type of fraudulent activity is a message that a person has a blocked credit card. Most often, a text notification about the situation is sent to the victim's phone number. The SMS says that it is easy to fix the problem - you need to call the phone, which is free. After that, a dialogue takes place in which the scammers say that an unexpected server failure has occurred. The situation can be quickly corrected even now, but for this you will need to name the credit card number and its pin code.

Important to remember! This data cannot be transferred, since money from the account can be transferred without using a plastic card directly. This is helped by Internet technologies, in particular, online banking.

Winnings

Everyone loves to receive prizes - people with criminal intentions use this. The person selected for deception receives a call or a message that he has become a winner in some kind of lottery. It is reported that the prize is quite large - a phone, a TV or even a car. All you need to do is send a message to the specified number. This action is necessary to register and confirm your consent to participate. The text also asks to indicate the card details in order to receive monetary compensation for the prize received. The essence of the deception is as follows - the number to which the SIM is sent is paid, all funds from the balance are transferred to fraudsters, including credit ones. If the card data is sent, then all available funds are debited from it.

Prizes can be raffled off quite legally, but to receive them, you will need to call the specified phone number... The number is paid, you have to wait a long time, which affects the amount that a person pays. The likelihood that he will become the winner is extremely small. In addition, the operator has to wait a long time for a response.

Fraud protection

The main methods and measures of protection against deception

Not a single blacklist of fraudsters' phones has been compiled, but they are constantly being updated, therefore, before answering a call from an unknown or suspicious number, it is recommended to check it by filling in the numbers in the search. There are many existing fraudulent schemes, it is not possible to describe and list them all, so people should know how to protect themselves from possible fraud.

In order to get guaranteed protection from a person, not so much is required:

• Vigilance;
• Attention;
• Caution.

It is necessary to strictly adhere to some rules:

• Do not transfer card data to strangers;
• Do not share your passport data;
• Do not tell PIN - code from a credit card;
• Remember that legal shares cellular operators do not involve the transfer of money from one subscriber's number to another.

It is important to remember that phone numbers should be memorized so as not to fall for deception. You should also not forget that calls and messages can be sent from the Web, where any data is entered, including the phones of cellular operators.

A person should know that all information that was received from an unknown number, which may look true, needs careful verification - it is better to call back on your own at your operator's number. You should also do this if the call came from emergency services or the police for no apparent reason.

A good method of protection is to monitor thematic forums, as many people post fraudulent numbers.

An equally important step in protecting yourself from fraudulent activities will be to consider the information received. You should not immediately transfer funds or take any action with your by credit card, you need to carefully consider your further actions. It is best to immediately contact the operator or services on whose behalf the call was made, to call your relatives back on your own. Providers or mobile operators will never require confirmation of participation by payment, they will not ask for a card number or pin - code from her.

In the event that a call came from a bank representative, then you should not immediately provide all your data, several simple but important questions need to be asked, including:

• Contact details specified in the contract;
• Bank phone numbers;
• The department in which the contract was concluded.

After that, it is necessary to verify the received answers with the data that are written on the official website. Replies should be received immediately, which is a guarantee that they are not read from the site or searched on the Internet.

Protect your loved ones

Additional protection methods

• You cannot provide information about income or loans taken on the Internet;
• You cannot publish phone numbers;
• Indicate card numbers;
• Report to social networks accounts.

All this information will help scammers not only choose their victim, but also draw up a scheme of actions that will help create the most believable picture. Also, you should not give your phone to strangers who ask to call on the street. In addition, you cannot issue a SIM card in your own name if a stranger will use it, since all responsibility lies with the one whose name is indicated in the documents. It is very important to check your phone balance on a daily basis, as funds may be debited without notifying the user. If you suspect, you need to immediately notify your service provider of the problem in order to prevent fraudulent activities.

How to check a suspicious phone number: different ways

Mobile and Internet companies themselves are striving to protect their subscribers. Protection from swindlers involves not only communicating by official numbers, but also using specially created services. Each of the main operators has their own developments, such as sites, with user information collected on them, including overviews of schemes and methods of protection against them, databases phone numbers from which suspicious calls came.

There are “black” and “white” phone lists, which enable people to determine who is calling them and for what purpose. There are also official prices - a list of services and prices for them that are provided to the user so that he can know when a call or SMS is free for him.

Several online services (sites or databases) have been created on the Internet that allow you to enter a phone number and find out if it is listed as fraudulent or is "white". With the help of such services, you can find out from which country or city the call was made, as this will help determine whether they are trying to deceive a person or not.

Short numbers are also collected in a separate database. By entering the one from which the call was made, you can find out if it is official. Also, the user will receive information about which operator the specified short number belongs to. Today, it is not difficult to check the phones of fraudsters, but you need to remember - every day new numbers and methods of deception appear, so you should not lose your vigilance when communicating with strangers. Leading questions, direct requests for information that real providers should have, the ability to quickly navigate the situation - all this will help protect yourself from deception and criminal actions.

Conclusion

Telephone fraudsters already available in the databases: numbers and a list of telephone fraudsters, information about the schemes they have developed, will help protect against possible fraud. However, the scammers do not want to stop, and every day they develop new schemes, use new methods of deception. It is best for your own protection not to pick up the phone if an unfamiliar number is displayed. It should be immediately checked on the Internet to find out whether it is entered in special databases. If the conversation is already underway, then it is strictly forbidden to provide personal data or information regarding bank accounts, cards. If all the recommendations are followed, then the opportunities for deception will be less and less every day. It is very important to immediately call and notify your operator of the fact of fraud, as well as the police, because only there they will be able to help in the most difficult situations.

It depends only on the person himself whether he will fall into a trap set by fraudsters or will be able to protect himself from deception, thereby saving his finances.

Telephone fraud is a relatively new type of luring money or valuables from citizens, which flourished after the massive proliferation of mobile phones. Although it existed before, in the simplest form - to find out if the owners are at home, or to force them to leave the apartment under the invented pretext of the grandmother's illness in the country.

The essence of telephone fraud is elementary. They call you and tell you something, after which you lose a certain amount of money. By the way, it is absolutely not necessary to call you on your mobile. Can also be used for regular landline phone- unfortunately, databases of almost ALL phone numbers can be purchased. Let's consider the most common options. There are two of them, the second is subdivided into many sub-options.

phone scammers

1. A close relative knocked down a person, you have to pay the police

No matter how many times this scheme is told in newspapers and on TV, scammers continue to use it. They call you, usually at night, allegedly from the police and inform that your son (daughter, brother, sister) hit a man at a pedestrian crossing. It threatens many years in prison, but the police can be bought off. Take 100 thousand (or more, or less) and bring it there somewhere, or you can do it differently - we will drive up to you and give your son in exchange for money.

At first, this simple version also worked. Then they began to work more sophisticatedly. Your son called you from the police and described the situation crying. Then a policeman intercepted the receiver and clearly explained what to do now. Many came across. Especially if you were given a deadline for transferring money, for example, like this: in half an hour the colonel will arrive, and then nothing can be done. Hurry up.

How not to get caught

Do not be surprised that they called you. Obviously, the scammers have made inquiries about you beforehand. They know that you have a son who drives a car. So you ask the pseudo-policeman to hand over the phone to him. It happened that they passed it on - to a good imitator of your son's voice. Then you need to ask him a question to which only he can know the answer. For example, when was the last time you visited your grandmother. Usually after that, the "divorce" ends.

It is possible and even easier - call your son back. It is unlikely that the villains will stage this comedy at the very moment when your son's phone is turned off, they cannot find out about this.

Yes, but what about the case when your son calls you? And this is not him, this is an imitator. This means that you have been overheard for quite some time. Unfortunately, this can be done not only by law enforcement agencies, but also by criminals. There is also such an option: they did not just eavesdrop on you, but also recorded the conversation with your son, then made a suitable cut from his words, glued it together and now they gave you to listen.

In both cases, there is only one reaction - call your son.

phone scammers

2. Huge call bill

There are a number of phone fraud tricks that pay you a hefty phone bill. They call you from an unknown number, instantly hang up, call back out of curiosity, and get involved in a long and very expensive conversation, for example, with a cute girl. And the number you called back turns out to be paid and you receive a receipt for a huge amount.

Another option is that a phone number appears in a newspaper or on the Internet with an offer to buy something interesting at half price - a car, an apartment, a summer cottage. This is also a paid number. You call, they talk to you for a long, long time, and then they tell you that, alas, it has already been sold. Further, as usual - a receipt for a tidy sum.

The next option. On the street, someone asks for your phone to call a dying grandmother, and his phone is dead. And everything is needed very urgently. You give, he calls a paid number, lies for a long time about the grandmother, then - see above.

Or so. You are informed that you need to call such and such (of course, paid) number, because…. Then there are a million options, from a malfunction in your own network to the need for someone to save someone's life from something. Or you won a million - call this number. Either you guessed it in the TV lottery - you call the specified number, etc. You can't list everything.

How not to get caught

The simplest thing is to never call back to an unfamiliar number! And if you do not have a phone in your memory notebook? Or suddenly an unknown person calls you with a really serious proposal? It is more difficult here, but not much. Call back, and if you feel that the conversation is meaningless, irrelevant, or clearly deliberately dragging on - hang up. Really nice and decent girls do not communicate for a long time with unfamiliar men. And vice versa.

phone scammers

And if you are still caught?

There is nothing to think about. As soon as you realize that you have been deceived, immediately contact the police. The Law comes into play.

We all intuitively understand what fraud is and how it differs, for example, from theft. But the law requires a precise definition, and this is how it is done in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

Article 159. Fraud

Fraud, that is, theft of someone else's property or the acquisition of the right to someone else’s property by deception or abuse of trust.

Further, in Article 159, it is described in detail what punishment follows for fraud, including telephone fraud. The law distinguishes between several types of fraud and establishes different types of penalties. So, for "simple" fraud, this scoundrel is liable from a fine of up to 120 thousand rubles to imprisonment for up to two years.

For fraud committed by a group of persons by prior agreement, as well as causing significant damage to a citizen, villains are liable from a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles to imprisonment for up to five years.

For fraud committed by a person using his official position, as well as on a large scale, the scoundrels are already entitled to a fine of up to 500 thousand rubles to imprisonment for up to six years.

And, finally, for fraud committed by an organized group or on an especially large scale or that resulted in the deprivation of a citizen's right to housing, these scoundrels are liable to imprisonment for up to ten years with a fine of up to one million rubles.

Result

I have given here only extreme types of punishment, between them the Law provides for intermediate ones - a different amount of a fine and a different term of imprisonment. The fraudsters who read these terms should understand that they cannot get rid of the chatter that they are just joking. Of course, if the defrauded citizens turn to the police in time and manage to find out from the fraudsters any information that incriminates them - a phone number, car number, any noticeable features of behavior or speech, appearance etc. It's not easy, but worth a try. Maybe then it will be possible to return the stolen money. Although it is best, using the rules we have given, not to fall for the tricks of telephone scammers.

Alexander Zakharov."Scams. Forgeries. Crime."
2001-2018 Last update November 25, 2018

As soon as it appeared, the telephone became a weapon of the criminal business. And a cell phone, a smartphone - in particular.

According to international statistics, the annual total losses of telecom operators and subscribers from telephone fraud are about $ 10-40 billion. It is impossible to calculate exactly - operators are extremely reluctant to share their losses, and subscribers are "thrown" by 100-500-900 rubles. often do not go anywhere.

Linking bank accounts to mobile banking applications threatens the victims of swindlers with serious financial losses.

Basic deception schemes

There are just a few major deception schemes associated with mobile phones. But there are a lot of variations of successful "divorces" that bring quite tangible profits to fraudsters.

And when users cease to "be led" on already used schemes, new ones appear. This process is constantly improving. Moreover, with the advent of smartphones, fraud using cellular Internet communications has reached a new, higher level (the number of various viruses for "Android" is growing almost exponentially. In particular, see 6 most malicious applications for smartphones).

The most common mobile and smartphone scams :

1. Call from operator technical support

A harsh message comes like: “Your number is blocked. Details in the service technical support mobile operator ". And the phone number is indicated, but not a four-digit one, like that of service operators' services, but the usual one - ten-digit. When you call this number, the “subscriber department specialist” picks up the receiver, calls himself and some kind of his “personnel number” (probably for the sake of solidity) and explains that your number is “transferred to another line”. Further - options are possible. You may be asked to send a "re-registration confirmation SMS".

The money will be withdrawn for SMS and everything can end there.

Another variant: begin to allegedly check the "database", asking for name and patronymic, place of residence and work, passport data and ... credit card number. But this is already quite a sucker ...

Another option: "Hello, this is the engineering service of your cellular operator. We are reconfiguring the network. To stay in touch, you need to dial ..." As a result, after dialing the dictated combination of letters and numbers, 300 rubles are debited from the account. (or 600 - for those who were instructed by the "service engineer" to "dial the authorization twice for fidelity"). In fact, the entered combination was nothing more than a paid SMS sending to a short number. That is, simply an SMS payment in favor of a fraudster.

New variant: Your mobile phone is called by a fraudster who may introduce himself as an engineer of a mobile operator. A convincing citizen (citizen) will tell you that she is allegedly checking the quality of the connection, and will ask you to press # 90, or # 09, or any other combination of numbers and symbols. By entering the dictated characters, you will provide crooks with access to your SIM card. And you will only have to wonder where the money disappears from your account.

Another option is aimed at deceiving the clients of the Mobile Bank of Sberbank of Russia (and there are 88 million of them): Fraudsters call subscribers on behalf of the technical support staff of the respective mobile operator (MTS, MegaFon, Beeline or Tele2). By their behavior, crooks perfectly imitate the behavior of real technical support employees - they turn politely, offer some lucrative offers to lull the victim's vigilance, etc.

All these conversations boil down to the fact that the subscriber must send an SMS to the official number of "Sberbank" 900 with additional digits (swindlers will readily dictate them) to confirm the new terms of service. Scammers use various pretexts for this, but most often - the need to confirm the activation of the discount, which will apply after the VAT increase to 20% from January 1, 2019.

Everyone knows about the upcoming increase in VAT, and many are not averse to getting a legal discount and continuing to pay for communication via old price and next year. In the case of sending an SMS to number 900, all the money of the Sberbank client is transferred to the fraudster. Most often, old people and those who do not know that it is possible to send funds from the bank account of Sberbank through a regular SMS are caught by scammers.

At the same time, fraudsters make such calls using VoIP services, which replace the phone number with any other, excluding the possibility of "flashing" their real number.

By the way, as practice shows, they can name themselves at least someone. Most importantly, don't do anything with your smartphone under the dictation of crooks. It is easier (and cheaper) to interrupt the conversation, contact the official technical support service of your telecom operator and clarify that this was specifically offered to you.

• Prisoner convicted of earning money in the colony by sending SMS to credit card holders

2. "You won a car" ("A ticket to ...", "TV ...", etc.)

An "operator" calls you (but an SMS can also come), congratulates you on your winnings and asks you to either send a confirmation SMS, or make a registration "fee" through WEBmoney, Yandex.Money, buy a prepaid card and call back with its code. Money naturally disappears, and there was no gain in nature either.

• Tatarstan condemned telephone scammers posing as radio station DJs

3. "Mom, I had an accident ..." ("Sasha, the battery has run down ...", "Lena, I'm in trouble ...", "Mom, I'm in the hospital, pay for the operation ...")

It is good if you are simply asked to transfer money to the specified mobile phone number. The transferred money is a payment for the title "sucker". The caller introduces himself as a son (brother, friend, colleague) and in an agitated voice reports that he has just had an accident (hit a man, detained by the police, taken hostage, got stuck in an elevator). The unusual sounding of his voice was explained by stress, trauma, poor connection... Why is the call from someone else's phone? My batteries ran out (broke during an accident, taken away by bandits, lost in the confusion). I have to call from someone else. You will have to call a lot, so you need to replenish the person's balance. This was followed by a request to buy an express payment card for 10, 20, 50, 100 dollars and dictate its secret code over the phone. According to the representative of the "K" department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, prisoners in prison are often engaged in such wiring - they replenish accounts for their own conversations.

Worse, when "Mom, I hit a man, you have to pay for the" excuse ", I hand over the phone to the investigator ..." A lot of people, especially elderly people, are being led to this "divorce". In 2007, my mother was "thrown" in this way - she gave the scammers 30 thousand for my alleged "excuse" from the police. I only guessed to call me when I gave the money ... I laughed for a long time, and then, together with the operas, I figured out the swindlers. Calculated. The money is still being paid ...

Here is another example of a similar telephone "divorce": In Moscow, a circus cloakroom attendant gave 700 thousand rubles to false police officers to save her son after being "arrested for drugs."

A very expensive kind of similar "divorce": "Mom, I'm in the hospital, I need to urgently pay for the operation ...". More details here:

• Mom, pay for the operation ...
  How scammers knock out money from gullible citizens for "paid medical care"
• Having deceived the widow of Yevgeny Leonov, the swindlers offered to call her an ambulance

In order not to become a victim of intruders, you must observe simple rules safe behavior and be sure to bring them to the elderly relatives:

Never trust calls and messages that your relative or acquaintance has been in an accident, hospital, behind bars and now you need to pay a bail (fine, bribe) for him. Call your relatives and friends. Make sure they are okay. Practice shows that an ordinary call to a loved one allows you to dot the "i";

Do not answer if your phone receives calls or SMS messages from unknown numbers with a request to deposit money in the account to help children or to receive an allegedly won prize. All prizes will go to scammers in the form of your honestly earned money.

4. "I'm in trouble, can I call my mom?"

You allow the crying girl to dial the number of her beloved mother from your phone. She honestly returns the phone after talking for a few minutes. During this time, a rather large amount disappears from your account - the girl called the paid telephone line.

5. "Return the money"

Two SMS arrive. The first one informs that ___00 rubles were transferred to your account, and the second - that it was done by mistake, like, return the money. In fact, no one has transferred money to you and you do not need to return anything. But you are an honest man ...

6. "Your bank card is blocked ..."

An SMS comes in: “Your bank card is blocked. For questions about unblocking, please call ... ". And on that issue, swindlers are already waiting for you. Posing as bank employees, in order to remove the alleged blocking, you will be asked to go to the nearest ATM, they will be asked to perform several manipulations with the card under their dictation. As a result, the card account of your card will be reset to zero, and the crooks will be enriched by the same amount.

They can ask for card details in order to withdraw money from it in a matter of minutes.

If you receive such SMS, do not call the phone number indicated in the SMS, but call the bank's contact center at the number indicated on the card.

6.1. Fraud allegedly from number 900

The victim is sent from a short number, allegedly "900", SMS, which bank card a transfer will be made in the amount of such and such an amount. And something like this: “Confirm the action by sending 1 to the same number. If you don’t confirm, then after 600 seconds it will happen automatically ”.

And then a "bank employee" comes into play, who calls the victim and introduces himself as a security officer. Then comes the usual "wiring" according to scheme 6, and the victim loses a certain amount of money.

The trick of the scheme is that the call goes not from number 900, scammers start with 9 and two letters "o" - 9oo, 9OO. If you don't look closely, it looks similar.

7. Banking Trojan for Android

This provides fraudsters with the opportunity to steal money from the victim's bank account, if the Mobile Banking service is connected. Scammers are sending out to owners mobile devices messages with a proposal to download a "postcard", "gift", etc., for which to follow the Internet link. Following this link, the user downloads malware, which is able to request a balance without the participation of the subscriber, replenish the account from a bank card if it is tied to a number, and withdraw funds from the subscriber's account to the cybercriminals' electronic wallets. You can find out about the presence of such a threat in the phone only with the help of an anti-virus software or by constantly monitoring transactions in your bank account (SMS notifications).

To protect money in bank accounts from theft, the most effective option would be to completely stop working with finances on Android smartphones and tablets. It is clear that for the majority this is not acceptable.

Option: must be used second smartphone which is used only for mobile banking. And one should not think that "what hacker needs me" - a hacker needs everyone and is dear.

8. "Confirm your passport details"

The scheme is simple and reliable, since is based on real changes made to the Law "On Communications" and entered into force on June 1, 2018, namely: operators are obliged to check the accuracy of the information that was provided by their subscribers. This is the date of birth, full name, passport data. If the subscriber's data does not coincide with those that have already been entered in the state information base, the operator will suspend the provision of services. If a request comes from law enforcement agencies and the subscriber does not confirm his data within 15 days, the operator will block the SIM card.

The company verifies the data of its customers only in person with a passport.

So, the subscriber receives an SMS message, allegedly from his telecom operator, with a request to urgently confirm the passport data by sending a scanned copy of the document to specific address... If the scan is not received within the next 15 days, the number will be blocked.

A search on the Internet gives information about changes in the law, and some of the recipients of such an SMS-message send a scan of the document without bothering to call their operator. The consequences can be dire. Using a passport scan, fraudsters can:

take a loan in someone else's name in any microfinance organization that is not scrupulous about its clients;

register entity in order to subsequently launder money through the company and engage in other activities prohibited by law;

to design a website in the name of the subscriber, which will entice money from gullible citizens;

conclude any transactions on behalf of the subscriber.

9. Proposal to locate the subscriber, intercept SMS, find out everything about the last name, etc., on Internet sites

These suggestions are nothing more than suggestions to "play": "SMS interceptor", "location determination", or an "anti-tracking" system is nothing more than games.

There is even a standard public offer agreement, which the overwhelming majority of users ignore by ticking the box and "accepting the terms". The contract explicitly states that the service is "gaming" and does not provide any real services or information. This contract is carefully hidden, but formally it is easily accessible to the consumer. Usually there is an inconspicuous asterisk next to the indication of the cost of access, which is a link to the user agreement. That is, the price of an SMS is indicated in the range of 10-30 rubles, and in a small and poorly readable font somewhere at the bottom of the site they write that the price is indicated for one viewing, one day of access, one day of work of specialists, etc. access, hundreds of views, etc., and do not even try to provide real services. The only task is to rip off the maximum possible amount one-time, while not breaking the law and observing the rules of the game.

However, the majority of subscribers perceive these offers not as an invitation to the game, but as a real service that allows them to find out the details of the private life of other people. This kind services as games are not announced, or announced in small print to match the background color (and who looks at small font, which is not visible?). And by sending the corresponding SMS to the specified number, you lose money unambiguously. They played with you, entertained ... Nothing criminal.

By the way, there are only three numbers for sending SMS "to play spies". That is, the great number of virtual rogue detectives are nothing more than clones of one big fraud.

10. "L ove-story" - paid numbers

“On a dating site I received a message from a user with a proposal to communicate on mobile phone, since he rarely appears on the site. Neither on the website nor by SMS was I notified that this was the "SMS-flirt" service, and the cost of an SMS is 77 rubles. A novel via SMS cost me 260,000 rubles. I really hope that my story is one of the few, and that girls will not fall for the tricks of SMS scammers. "

Be careful when communicating blindly - there may be scammers on the other end.

Scams with paid numbers in general, they are very common, and can be different in execution. Maybe an SMS message like "Your house is on fire" comes from an unfamiliar number, or, again, a call goes through from an unfamiliar number and is immediately dropped. When you call the number, some amount of money will be debited from your account. So don't call these numbers back. It's easier to call home or wait for a call from this very number - if you are needed, they will call you.

11. Duplicate SIM card

Agency companies of mobile operators often issue duplicate SIM cards, many of which are tied to Sberbank's "Mobile Bank" or to the Internet banking of other banks. As a result, an unscrupulous owner of a duplicate SIM card has the ability to steal money from the bank account of the previous SIM card owner.

• MTS or Sberbank - who will compensate for the theft of money from the account through the "mobile bank"

About SMS scams

Unlike the telephone numbers of cellular subscribers, short numbers designed specifically to pay for mobile services. This can be participation in SMS-quizzes and voting, sale of content (pictures, melodies, videos, games) for cell phones, requests for information or subscriptions, sending messages to radio stations or special codes for the drawing of prizes. This is used by scammers who receive the main income from SMS messages (not counting the divorces of pensioners with road accidents). The maximum price of one content SMS is about 300 rubles, but the user will be forced to send two or three messages under any pretexts ("you have registered in the system, now send a request", "send an SMS to confirm that you are over 18 years old", etc. .). As a result, 600-900 rubles are withdrawn from the account at a time.

According to independent experts, up to 50% of premium SMS traffic is fraudulent (according to operators - a maximum of 15%).

The list of scams and scams with SMS is wide: antiviruses that promise "100% protection against spam", interceptors of ICQ and SMS messages from other phones, software that allows you to control other phones, "punching" a cell phone number or selling access to a phone base , offers to find out the secret of your last name, "check for treason" (it is argued that the check is carried out by studying the statistics of the owner of the room to prostitutes, activities on dating sites and in social networks), sale of breast or penis augmentation techniques, muscle building, unique diets , online fortune telling, interpretation of dreams, fulfillment of desires, "download a movie at high speed", various tests ... And so on.

The most advanced and creative fraudsters use interfaces of popular social networks known to Internet users on their websites: for example, Odnonochniki.ru offers to select "sex partners for one night, for regular secret meetings, group sex and much more."

Hundreds of scam sites that appear almost every day and the problems of subscribers who have visited them make not only users think, but also direct participants in the micropayment market - content providers and mobile operators, as well as their partners - antivirus companies... Thus, in just 1 month of 2010, according to Doctor Web, the fraudsters' income only from various modifications of Trojan.Winlock (a ransomware virus that blocks operating system) have reached several hundred million rubles. We must also take into account the fact that this data is not for all users using Doctor Web anti-virus software in Russia. There are also those who use the solutions of other vendors, as well as those who do not at all seek to protect themselves, forgetting about antivirus.

Advertising and service offerings on the Internet make up a huge part of the wiring for SMS payments. By sending SMS they can offer to pay for a short number both for access to a porn archive or downloading pirated software, and for quite specious services, such as getting an IQ test result or a personal horoscope. Usually the cost of an SMS turns out to be 300 rubles, instead of the declared 30-50 rubles. At the same time, the unlucky user does not receive anything for his payment. Moreover, sometimes he receives a notification: they say, you need to send another "free SMS with additional confirmation", etc. ad infinitum.

Know-how of SMS fraudsters in late 2013-early 2014 SMS-message with the text like "I scratched your car". The poor goof, not even bothering to inspect his car and think about where the unknown person got his phone number, immediately called back to the highlighted LOCAL (substituted by crooks) number, and lost not a frail amount of money ... The number turned out to be very paid.

A very interesting technique began to be used often in 2012-2013: a virus caught on the network, when opening any Internet page, filled about a quarter of the screen with a window with porn, which was not removed by any action. On a separate line The porninformer sarcastically thanked for the trust and offered to send an SMS with a code to the number 3649 to delete it and refuse the pornvideo subscription. Those who decided to send an SMS, instead of the deletion code, received a response message - an offer to send another SMS to confirm the deletion.

The number 3649 is used wherever possible. From spam mailings "Number 3649, if you send it, you will receive 35 free SMS", "access to unreal erotica", "get a key on Kaspersky" to the offer "download physics cheat sheets". To receive a password, you need to send an SMS-message TTHOM ".

http://smscost.ru/ - on this site you can check the true cost of SMS to short numbers before sending.

Cellular operators

"Hello, is that you? And I really thought I was wrong with the number" - almost every mobile subscriber has heard such a phrase at least once. What else to think if, instead of the usual beep, a familiar number responds with music? It turned out that this is a new advertising campaign of cellular operators - without warning, all subscribers were connected to the service of replacing the beep with a melody. Free to try. But, for example, in "Beeline" after two weeks the service automatically became paid (2 rubles per day). Those who were puzzled by the change in their call in time and called the operator, had time, if they wanted, to refuse in time, while the rest figured out the situation, only noticing the accelerated loss of money from their account.

But the service, connected in this way without the consent of the subscriber, is imposed, and in many regions prosecutorial inspections forced cellular operators to abandon such actions. Now, as the press service of the VimpelCom company said, the advertising campaign continues, but with the conditions adjusted at the end of 2010 - after the end of the free promotional period, the service is automatically disabled.

And there is also a weather notification service by SMS. The first month is free.

With the development of cellular communications, telephone scammers have become more active. Deception methods grow like mushrooms after a warm rain. Sometimes the criminals are so convincing that even the cautious people who have heard about telephone scams fall for their tricks. In order to protect ourselves from huge expenses, let's once again recall the most popular methods of deception.

Call back!

Phone scammers using this method operate in different ways.

They either dial your number and after 1-2 calls drop it, or in a hoarse voice they say: “Hello! How de ... "- and interrupt the phrase in mid-sentence. Most often, we call back on the broken number. In the first case, because it is interesting. In the second, because we are sure that we did not recognize a common acquaintance. The end of this "chime" is clear: there is no money left on the phone. By the way, sometimes telephone scammers do not call, but send a message with a request to call back or with a question: "How are you?"

The call center operator speaks to you

In this case, telephone scammers are presented as the operator of "Beeline", housing and communal services, the Ministry or whatever. With a mechanical voice, they recite phrases about new, very advantageous services and offer to connect them without leaving home. The result is the same - goodbye money!

Preferential rate

Especially effective in cities with big amount emigrants. They are offered to call home at a reduced rate. Needless to say, people enjoy using "benefits", the operator does not receive money, and the owner of the phone "gets" a large sum.

You won a prize

These phone scammers may pretend to be radio or television DJs. They happily inform (in a conversation or via SMS) that you won a car (TV, phone, ticket). You only need to call back to the specified number or send SMS. Everything. No money left.

Your salary card is blocked

I almost fell for this trick myself. On the day the money was received (!), A message was received: "The bank informs that your card is blocked for technical reasons. To change the PIN code, call the number or follow the link." The fact that the number of another region, I noticed at the last second. Naturally, a call to the bank confirmed that nothing was blocked for me.

Your son is in trouble

A very old but still valid scam. They tell you by phone that your relative is in trouble, and only a large amount can help him, which must be brought to the address ... And after all, money is being taken away!

We take care of ourselves

You can still list the methods for phone owners for a long time. But it's better to list the basic rules of behavior that will help you save a lot of money.

1. Never call back or send SMS to unfamiliar numbers, even if they are not four-digit numbers.
2. If you can’t wait to call back, first “fill in” the number in any search engine. There you can find more than one list of telephone scams, they are published quite often.
3. Don't be greedy. Remember that even in a mousetrap there is no free cheese, the mouse pays for it with its life.
4. When you receive a message about a relative in trouble, first call him back, and you will make sure that you have communicated with the crooks.
5. But if you were deceived by telephone scammers, where should you go? To the nearest police station. They simply have to accept your application and conduct an investigation.