Another major fraud scheme has been uncovered in Uzbekistan. According to the State Security Service, an organized group of 34 people led by a 40-year-old resident of Fergana city was exposed. What drew attention was that they disguised their activity not as an ordinary office, but as a “call center”.
The group members rented premises in Fergana and Tashkent and targeted foreign citizens using modern information technologies. According to the investigation, they illegally gained access to a database of thousands of customers in Russia who had purchased medicines and dietary supplements.
The scheme was simple but effective: fake operators introduced themselves as representatives of law enforcement agencies or bank employees and convinced victims that “compensation would be paid for low-quality medicines”. The main targets were elderly people. To receive the compensation, a “tax” had to be paid, and citizens were asked to transfer money to various bank cards.
As a result, nearly 9.6 million rubles were collected from the victims. That means billions of soums. Moreover, it was found that some members of the group were also involved in unlicensed crypto-asset turnover.
According to the court verdict, 21 members of the group were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 3.5 to 9.5 years. The rest received restrictions on freedom and fines. Efforts to recover the material damage are also ongoing.
This case once again reminds us: if “easy money” is promised over the phone, it must be double-checked. Otherwise, fraudsters use technology fast, and people’s trust even faster. Today it is one person, tomorrow another — and caution is in everyone’s hands.
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