What divorce schemes are popular in 2024 and how to protect yourself from them

[Father]

We talked about how to save, earn, multiply, protect and spend your money. On the conference website, you can view the list of reports and get access to recordings of presentations.
I explained which divorce schemes are the most popular right now, and then answered the audience's questions. The performance lasted almost half an hour. The key ideas are in this synopsis.

Secure account scheme is still the most popular one​

The essence of the scheme is that a person is persuaded to withdraw money from an ATM and put it in the account of fraudsters. Callers introduce themselves as employees of special services or banks and convince the interlocutor that his funds are in danger and the only way to save them is to transfer them to a"safe account". There are also other variations of divorce, when the reason for the operation is participation in an investigative experiment or even saving the organization from an accounting audit.
Judging by the reviews, divorce is very energy-consuming: if a person enters a dialogue, they process it for several hours, switch between different scammers, threaten, push, promise salvation. Victims often say that very quickly they stopped understanding what they were doing and why they were doing it, and started simply following instructions.
The amount of losses is tens and hundreds of thousands of rubles.

Read more about different variations of divorce in our magazine:

1. A duet of calls from the police and the bank.
2. Fraudsters are presented by police officers, the Central Bank and the FSB.
3. The director warns about a call from the police and demands to answer it.

Here are the main signs that scammers are calling you — from the "police", "bank" and generally from anywhere.
You are in a hurry. For example, they persuade you to save money immediately — right now, otherwise you will lose everything. It is much easier to convince a person in a panic to transfer money to a " secure account "or say the code from the SMS to"cancel the application".
They press you with authority and threaten you. For example, a fraudster introduces himself as an FSB investigator and assures you that if you refuse to cooperate, you will face prison: the outfit is already ready to leave for detention. You can't consult with anyone either: you will be allegedly punished for disclosing information.
Set up against the bank. Fraudsters know that banks have technologies that help track suspicious transactions. Employees call the client and try to figure out if he is withdrawing money on the tip of scammers.
Therefore, the attackers are trying to intimidate the person: "Do not believe that you are getting a call from the bank! In fact, they are in cahoots with scammers! Tell them that you are withdrawing money for personal purposes and that no one has contacted you."
They ask for codes. A real bank employee will never ask for a text message code or three digits on the back of the card. Otherwise, he will be fired and prosecuted.
They require you to withdraw money from an ATM. If you hear such a request — you can be sure that this is a divorce. Hang up the phone and add the number to the blacklist.
If you suspect something is wrong, most likely, your fears are justified. Just hang up. If you still have any doubts, call the bank or the police at the number on the official website and describe the situation. Most likely, you will be reassured and confirmed that you have spoken to scammers.
And if you are prevented from interrupting the conversation, take a break: for example, say that you need to close the window, or just put the phone on the table. Take a couple of steps away from him and take a few deep breaths. Most often, this is enough to recall everything you've read on the Internet about such situations. Learn more about how to deal with emotions and avoid being deceived in the first lesson of the free course "How to protect yourself from scammers".

Fake brokers are lured by the promise of super profits​

People are offered to invest in stocks that have been specially selected for them by the best analysts: they say that there are secret strategies that will increase their investment several times.
But they offer to invest through special brokers, because ordinary ones allegedly charge huge commissions, and it is also dangerous to work with them because of sanctions. In fact, scammers have nothing to do with brokers, do not invest anything anywhere, and draw profitability.
You will not be able to take profit or at least your own money from a fake broker. First, the client will be offered to pay a commission for management, then income taxes, then they will come up with something else-and so on until the money runs out. Sometimes scammers do not invent new brokers, but pretend to be real ones — but the essence of the scheme does not change from this.

Learn more about what divorce looks like and how to protect yourself from it:

1. How I gave a million credit rubles to a fake broker and went bankrupt.
2. Scammers pretend to be well-known brokers to steal your money.
3. How to choose a broker: the second lesson of the course "How to invest".

Here are the main signs of a fraudulent broker.
Work without a license. A real broker must have a license issued by the Central Bank. If the broker is not listed in the Central Bank register, you should not trust it.
Offer to top up your account via cryptocurrency. Transfers via cryptocurrency will not be able to be tracked and returned — this is what scammers use. They claim that because of the sanctions, Russians are not allowed to buy foreign shares. But they have a way: just buy bitcoins, transfer them to their wallet, and they will send the money to foreign exchanges.
An alarming generosity. An honest broker can give you several shares for opening an account. A fraudulent broker will promise to double your investment and assure you that you will definitely make a profit.
The ad leads to a site with a questionnaire. Scammers will ask a few questions like "What have you heard about investing?" and "Do you use the Internet?". All in order to lull your guard down and ingratiate yourself with others. If you pass the survey and leave your phone number, "broker managers" start calling and trying to persuade you to invest money right now. What such persuasions look like, we told in one of the issues of the podcast "Scheme".

Every day in Russia there are three financial pyramids​

Most of them are blocked at the very start. But some manage to gain popularity and attract "investors". On average, the participant loses 600 thousand rubles on such untwisted pyramids.
Modern financial pyramids disguise themselves as various types of activities: investments in cryptocurrency, cashback services, chain stores, joint purchases, mining, and a game of accumulating money. Because of this, people of all ages and social groups suffer from them.

Learn more about how pyramids work and how to protect yourself from them:

1. Pyramidometer T-W-a service that checks offers to invest.
2. How to recognize a pyramid scheme: 9 signs of fraudsters.
3. Checking investment offers: a lesson in the anti-fraud course.

Here are the main signs that the company is going to steal your investment.
Guarantee a profit. Only banks have the right to do this, and only for deposits. The maximum that an honest investment company can promise you is to compensate for some part of the loss if it suddenly occurs.
They promise unrealistic returns. To entice customers from banks and brokers, scammers promise huge interest rates. Ordinary deposits in rubles bring a little less than the Central Bank rate. If someone promises several times more, this is a reason to be wary.
Do not produce real goods or provide services. A real business will tell you :" We earn money by repairing fences." Or, for example, on handmade soap. And pyramid schemes will tell you about a revolutionary way to make money out of thin air using cashback on the cryptoblockchain.
Give huge bonuses for adding funds to your account. An honest company can offer a small bonus for the first deposit to your account. But if someone promises to double the deposited money, it is suspicious. Even if the huge bonus is actually paid out, it will be taken from the money of new depositors. And this is the sign of a pyramid.
They put pressure on the fear of lost profits. Pyramid ads don't tell you about your investment strategy or warn you about risks. Instead, she puts pressure on emotions, while simultaneously shaming them for being poor and promising to make them rich: "Look at these photos of successful people. If you had invested yesterday, you would already be flying on your own plane to your own island today! Immerse yourself in a world of limitless possibilities!! Make your dreams come true with us!!!"

Divorces from working for a large company, most often on the marketplace​

Scammers send messages on behalf of managers of large marketplaces: Ozon, Yandex-Market, Wildberry's, and Aliexpress. What you need to do is not very clear at first, but a smartphone with Internet access is enough to work. There is no salary cap — as long as you have time to earn, you will get so much: at least 10 thousand a day, at least 100 thousand.
First, they ask you to write to the manager in Telegram or Whatsapp. He says that the marketplace hires people who will buy goods through a special service for employees, and then immediately sell it to the company. The excuse can be anything: allegedly, this is how the marketplace encourages sellers, analyzes the demand for goods, or tests the service.

The more expensive the product, the more they promise to pay. However, you will have to buy it for your own money: they say, this is how the service works, nothing can be done. As a test task, you will be offered to buy and sell a product for several hundred rubles. Especially insidious scammers then really transfer a bonus to the employee's card — this increases confidence in the scheme.
After that, the amounts are increased. But "earnings" can no longer be withdrawn: allegedly, to do this, you need to buy back goods for a certain amount. If a person agrees to this, new problems arise: the "employer" will ask you to pay for drawing up a salary card, access to the work program, or help from a manager. For some reason, you can't deduct commissions and taxes from your salary. But the "employee" will definitely not see any more money.
Recently, scammers came up with another way to force a person to continue paying: they create group chats in instant messengers. It looks as if people are communicating, working, competing, and withdrawing earnings. And if a person wants to stop paying, they are told that this way they will let down their groupmates: because of this, no one will get anything. In fact no one else is there: these are all bots that only simulate activity.
The scheme is very dangerous: people lose hundreds of thousands of rubles and get into loans.

Learn more about schemes related to working on the Internet:

1. Divorce from work in "Ozone" and "Aliexpress".
2. How I was bred for 218,000 rubles in an online part-time job at Ozon.
3. What do fraudulent job ads look like on the Internet?

These red flags signal that you will be paid for the work, not you.
Good earnings without work experience. A well-known company takes everyone in a row, even without a normal interview. The work is elementary: for example, you need to click buttons on the site at someone's direction.
There is no agreement. Large companies are closely monitored by the tax service. If she suddenly finds out — and she does-that the company is working with someone without a contract and does not pay taxes, the employer will be imposed huge fines.
Transfer to an individual's bank card. Such transfers cannot be challenged or returned. And it's strange that a large company asks you to pay a couple of thousand rubles by transferring money to a bank card of some Vasya.
Ask for money to give money. Even if you need to pay something to get started, an honest employer will simply deduct the required amount from your salary. For example, money for a uniform or medical book. And some of the costs will be covered at all.
The universal rule: if they ask you for money to give you money, they are scammers. Learn more about this rule in the second lesson of the free course "How to Protect yourself from Scammers".

Remember​

1. No one will call you from the FSB or the Central Bank. And if the police want something from you, they'll send you a summons.
2. If on the phone the "policeman" says something about a "secure account", asks you to transfer money or withdraw it at an ATM — hang up.
3. If the broker is not listed in the Central Bank register, then you should not trust it.
4. Only scammers offer to buy cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions and invest in foreign stocks.
5. There is not a single investment instrument with guaranteed returns, except for bank deposits.
6. If the company promises several times more than the bank offers, this is a reason to be wary.
7. If your employer asks you to pay to get paid, it's a scam.