Caution, registered letter: how fraudsters deceive Belarusians, and why they still believe

Despite constant warnings from law enforcement, the scheme with registered letters from Belposhta remains one of the most effective tools in the arsenal of cybercriminals. How to recognize the trap and not become a victim of scammers, the correspondent of the agency “Minsk-Novosti” told the Soviet police Department.

Photo is illustrative, pexels.com

It all starts with a seemingly harmless call in the messenger. The attacker is presented as an employee of “Belposhta” and reports about the allegedly received in the name of the citizen registered letter.

- People believe in this legend even if they have not ordered anything. Fraudsters use psychological techniques, creating a sense of urgency and importance of the situation. As soon as the victim takes a hook, she is lured out of the code from SMS, which allegedly opens access to personal data or bank accounts, — said the Deputy head of the Soviet police Department — the head of the criminal police Mikhail Gavruk.

The recent case in the Soviet district illustrates how quickly the crime scenario is evolving:

33-year-old woman called in the messenger, introduced themselves as employees of the mail and under the pretext of receiving a “registration letter” lured the code from the SMS. Immediately after that came a second call from the “law enforcement officer”. The false police officer reported that the woman was the victim of fraudsters, and now transfers to criminal accounts are made on her behalf. To give the words credibility, the attacker went on video. The interlocutor said that some of the transfers were prevented, but in order to avoid criminal liability, the woman needs to help the investigation – take loans from banks and compensate for the damage. As a result, the victim issued two loans totaling 44,000 BYN, added personal savings to them and twice handed over the money to couriers, who were presented to her as collection employees.

Also, a 39-year-old resident of Minsk district became a victim of a multi-stage fraudulent scheme. It all began with a call from the alleged representative of “Belposhta”: the man was informed of a registered letter from the tax office and asked to dictate the code from the SMS. Soon he was contacted by the alleged operator of the cyber security center and reported that transfers to criminal accounts were made on his behalf. To block these operations, the man was persuaded to issue loans in two banks for 58 thousand BYN. Then a false employee of the National Bank and a law enforcement officer joined the special operation, who contacted the victim via video link and convinced the man to leave the package with money in the agreed place. Only two weeks later, the victim realized that he had been deceived and turned to the police.

M. Gavruk stressed that fraudsters are excellent psychologists. They use video, send fake IDs and constantly keep the victim in suspense, not giving time to think.

- Official notifications come either in paper form in the mailbox or through official communication channels, the law enforcement officer reminded. Mail employees never ask for codes from SMS to receive an email. Law enforcement officers will not call you on Viber, WhatsApp or Telegram. If you are offered a loan to catch a criminal, it is 100% scam. If the call raises the slightest suspicion, immediately hang up. Call back the organization on whose behalf you were called, on the official number or on the line 102. The first rule of safety is critical thinking. If you are asked to make any financial transactions, transfer money or provide confidential data, stop. Your guard is the best barrier for criminals.