Resident of Komi lost 5.5 million rubles due to hacking intercom

65-year-old resident of the Republic of Komi became a victim of telephone fraudsters, losing 5.5 million rubles. She believed in the story about the hacking of her personal account and transferred the money to the attackers. This was reported by the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, adding that a criminal case was initiated under the article on fraud on a large scale.

According to law enforcement agencies, the woman received a call from a man who introduced himself as a utility employee. He asked her to dictate the code from the SMS message, allegedly to adjust the intercom. Then a second fraudster entered the dialogue, posing as an FSB employee.

He convinced the pensioner that the attackers had gained access to her profile on the portal “State Services” and are trying to transfer all her money to finance banned organizations. To prevent this, a FSB employee suggested that the woman buy a new smartphone and install special programs on it, including a utility to track her geolocation.

Under the threat of criminal prosecution, the woman was forced to follow all the instructions of the fraudsters. She was forbidden to tell her relatives what was happening. As a result, the victim transferred 4.5 million rubles to the accounts indicated by the fraudsters, having performed almost three dozen operations through an ATM.

The criminals did not stop there and persuaded the woman to apply for a loan to allegedly repay an already existing fraudulent loan. They promised to return all funds to her later.