Over the past five years, Belarus has seen a significant increase in cybercrime, in particular theft from Belarusian citizens. We are being attacked en masse from abroad, mainly from the territory of Ukraine. In order to effectively counter organized cybercrime, in mid - 2022, in agreement with the head of state, a new division was created in the structure of the Investigative Committee of Belarus-the main Directorate for digital development of preliminary investigation. Andrey Motolko, Head of the Main Department for Digital Development of the Preliminary Investigation of the Central Office of the Investigative Committee, told BelTA about the functioning of the system of measures to counteract organized cybercrime.
Cyber Investigators against cybercrime
In one place, we gathered the best cyber research professionals and set them the task of developing and applying new approaches and techniques to combat cybercrime. This made it possible to reverse the negative trend of cybercrime growth. Over the past year, in close cooperation with the Main Directorate for Combating Cybercrime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we have uncovered and eliminated the activities of three major transnational organized criminal scam groups, which committed the overwhelming number of embezzlements against Belarusians over the past three years-more than 20 thousand crimes.
These groups included more than 2 thousand individuals. As part of the activities carried out in Belarus and the Russian Federation over the past year, more than 30 members of scam groups were detained, and a preventive measure in the form of remand in custody was applied to 15 accused. At the moment, more than 1.4 thousand criminal cases initiated by the territorial divisions of the Investigative Committee on the facts of embezzlement of money from card accounts are combined in one production.
The task is to identify and detain the group's top management
First, it is the identification and detention of the group's senior management. Here we also actively cooperate with our Russian colleagues. Over the past year, we have organized and conducted several successful operations to detain the leaders of cybercrime groups hiding on the territory of the Russian Federation. Work in this direction continues - in the near future, we plan to conduct a number of similar operations in various regions of the neighboring country.
Who can immediately block stolen funds on phishing resources?
Secondly, the identification and elimination of digital means of committing crimes - phishing resources, compromised bank cards, SIM cards, and other crime tools. Today, the UK has developed an algorithm for quickly blocking phishing resources - within a few hours from the moment they are detected. Thus, we eliminate the main tool for committing theft through phishing. In August of this year, the head of state signed a decree granting the Investigative Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the banking community the right to immediately block stolen funds transferred by fraudsters to accounts controlled by them in order to withdraw them from the country. The mechanism will start working early next year. Now the Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with the National Bank, are carrying out preparatory organizational measures for its effective implementation.
For selling bank card details - up to 10 years!
Third, the suppression of the activities of Belarusian accomplices-drops, drop guides, who systematically supply groups with bank cards and SIM cards for use in the commission of crimes for money. Over the past year, the Investigative Committee has identified and suppressed the activities of several groups of accomplices (drops), each consisting of 100 or more persons operating in different regions of the country.
I would also like to point out that Belarus has introduced criminal liability for selling bank card details! That is why I appeal to our citizens: do not help scammers to steal from your compatriots! The penalty is up to 10 years in prison.
Warning: Fake content! How fraudsters find victims of cybercrime
Recently, there has been a growing trend of cybercrime involving fake content created, among other things, with the help of artificial intelligence programs.
We record a large number of fraudulent ads from pseudo-investment companies that encourage our citizens to invest money online or cryptocurrency at high interest rates. To lull the vigilance of potential victims, fraudsters allegedly act on behalf of large Belarusian and Russian companies - Belaruskali, Belneftekhim, Belenergo, Gazprom, and so on.
A fake video advertisement is created and distributed through social networks, allegedly with the participation of prominent Belarusian and foreign public and political figures, whose edited voice calls for the transfer of all their savings to pseudo-investors (scammers).
In this regard, we constantly urge citizens to be vigilant, not to fall for the high-tech tricks of cyber scammers. For our part, we are now actively working on developing effective measures to counteract fraudulent content distributed through social networks and online advertising.
The set of measures implemented by the UK together with colleagues from other departments allowed us to contain the growth of cybercrime, and we achieved a significant reduction in certain types of cybercrime. The most important thing is that today we know who is attacking us from where and what criminal tools they are using. This allows us to effectively counteract organized cybercrime operating from outside the country.
Cyber Investigators against cybercrime
In one place, we gathered the best cyber research professionals and set them the task of developing and applying new approaches and techniques to combat cybercrime. This made it possible to reverse the negative trend of cybercrime growth. Over the past year, in close cooperation with the Main Directorate for Combating Cybercrime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we have uncovered and eliminated the activities of three major transnational organized criminal scam groups, which committed the overwhelming number of embezzlements against Belarusians over the past three years-more than 20 thousand crimes.
These groups included more than 2 thousand individuals. As part of the activities carried out in Belarus and the Russian Federation over the past year, more than 30 members of scam groups were detained, and a preventive measure in the form of remand in custody was applied to 15 accused. At the moment, more than 1.4 thousand criminal cases initiated by the territorial divisions of the Investigative Committee on the facts of embezzlement of money from card accounts are combined in one production.
The task is to identify and detain the group's top management
First, it is the identification and detention of the group's senior management. Here we also actively cooperate with our Russian colleagues. Over the past year, we have organized and conducted several successful operations to detain the leaders of cybercrime groups hiding on the territory of the Russian Federation. Work in this direction continues - in the near future, we plan to conduct a number of similar operations in various regions of the neighboring country.
Who can immediately block stolen funds on phishing resources?
Secondly, the identification and elimination of digital means of committing crimes - phishing resources, compromised bank cards, SIM cards, and other crime tools. Today, the UK has developed an algorithm for quickly blocking phishing resources - within a few hours from the moment they are detected. Thus, we eliminate the main tool for committing theft through phishing. In August of this year, the head of state signed a decree granting the Investigative Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the banking community the right to immediately block stolen funds transferred by fraudsters to accounts controlled by them in order to withdraw them from the country. The mechanism will start working early next year. Now the Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with the National Bank, are carrying out preparatory organizational measures for its effective implementation.
For selling bank card details - up to 10 years!
Third, the suppression of the activities of Belarusian accomplices-drops, drop guides, who systematically supply groups with bank cards and SIM cards for use in the commission of crimes for money. Over the past year, the Investigative Committee has identified and suppressed the activities of several groups of accomplices (drops), each consisting of 100 or more persons operating in different regions of the country.
I would also like to point out that Belarus has introduced criminal liability for selling bank card details! That is why I appeal to our citizens: do not help scammers to steal from your compatriots! The penalty is up to 10 years in prison.
Warning: Fake content! How fraudsters find victims of cybercrime
Recently, there has been a growing trend of cybercrime involving fake content created, among other things, with the help of artificial intelligence programs.
We record a large number of fraudulent ads from pseudo-investment companies that encourage our citizens to invest money online or cryptocurrency at high interest rates. To lull the vigilance of potential victims, fraudsters allegedly act on behalf of large Belarusian and Russian companies - Belaruskali, Belneftekhim, Belenergo, Gazprom, and so on.
A fake video advertisement is created and distributed through social networks, allegedly with the participation of prominent Belarusian and foreign public and political figures, whose edited voice calls for the transfer of all their savings to pseudo-investors (scammers).
In this regard, we constantly urge citizens to be vigilant, not to fall for the high-tech tricks of cyber scammers. For our part, we are now actively working on developing effective measures to counteract fraudulent content distributed through social networks and online advertising.
The set of measures implemented by the UK together with colleagues from other departments allowed us to contain the growth of cybercrime, and we achieved a significant reduction in certain types of cybercrime. The most important thing is that today we know who is attacking us from where and what criminal tools they are using. This allows us to effectively counteract organized cybercrime operating from outside the country.
