At a meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, General of the Police of the Russian Federation Vladimir Kolokoltsev, noted that today the situation with cashing remotely stolen funds using third – party accounts-the so-called drops-has not been regulated by law. At the same time, a large number of people, including young people, are involved in such schemes.
As an example, the Russian Interior Minister reported on the suppression of the activities of one of these groups:
"Employees of the Department for Combating the Illegal Use of Information and Communication Technologies of the Central Office for the city of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region detained a group of local residents from 19 to 23 years old, suspected of fraud. They searched for citizens willing to provide their bank cards, cashed the stolen money that came to them, and then transferred it to foreign accomplices. The involvement of the defendants in the commission of at least 80 crimes with damage amounting to tens of millions of rubles has been established."
It was previously established that the illegal activity began in the middle of last year. The attackers found criminal earnings through the Internet and followed the instructions of anonymous curators from abroad.
As it turned out, the detainees were involved in a criminal scheme that began with sending out an offer to vote for a contestant in a messenger. Those who agreed to comply with this request and showed inattention, inadvertently sent fraudsters a code to restore access to their account. Thus, they provided scammers with the opportunity to send messages on their behalf asking them to urgently borrow money. These funds were transferred to accounts linked to payment cards and cashed out by the defendants.
Territorial divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia initiated criminal cases on the grounds of crimes provided for in Articles 158 and 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. During the searches, 26 smartphones, 215 SIM cards, 42 bank cards, and seven pieces of computer equipment were seized from the detainees.
Four defendants were given a preventive measure in the form of recognizance not to leave and proper behavior, one is under house arrest.
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Kolokoltsev held a meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dedicated to countering IT crime
"Under the chairmanship of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, General of the Police of the Russian Federation Vladimir Kolokoltsev, a meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia was held on countering IT crimes," said Irina Volk, an official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
The head of the department called this topic extremely important and recalled that, given the degree of threat, the corresponding task is included in the national development goals of the Russian Federation, which were determined a month ago by a Presidential Decree.
The Minister gave a number of statistics:
"Since 2020, the number of attacks using information technology has increased by a third. The share of remote actions in the total array is now approaching 40%. Last year, they affected half a million people, of whom almost every fourth is a pensioner. Already this year, more than 40 thousand elderly citizens have become victims of various tricks of criminals. The amount of damage caused is significant. In total, it exceeded 210 billion rubles in 2023 and four months of this year."
Vladimir Kolokoltsev emphasized:
"Behind the dry figures are the personal tragedies of people who have lost their long-term savings and fallen into debt bondage."
The Russian Interior Minister said that the structure of IT crimes is changing, and new ways of committing such attacks are constantly emerging. A large number of people, including young people, are involved in criminal schemes for cashing out remotely stolen funds through third-party accounts. Despite the decline in the share of communications through "spoof" telephony, such facts are not completely excluded. In addition, for the purpose of deception, criminals use so-called SIM boxes, the capabilities of virtual automatic telephone exchanges, fictitious exchange platforms, "crypto exchanges", and "shadow" marketplaces.
"In the past and current years, there has been a surge in cases of illegal access to computer information. If in 2020 their share among remote trains did not exceed one percent, now it is every eighth IT act," the Head of the Department stated.
Vladimir Kolokoltsev said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and all interested agencies are taking the necessary measures to counteract these challenges, and work is underway to improve legislation. With the participation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, a number of important issues were resolved, including the suppression of the use of spoofing phone numbers, the suspension of dubious monetary transactions, additional mechanisms were developed to protect citizens ' financial assets and compensate for damage caused. Serious attention is paid to improving the" digital " literacy of the population.
Specialized units have been created in the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the number of which has increased fivefold since 2020. Algorithms for training employees are being improved, and investigation methods are being optimized to take into account the changing ways of remote crimes. Coordination of activities in this area is entrusted to the relevant department, which is formed in the central office of the department.
The meeting participants discussed in detail current aspects of cooperation with other federal executive authorities, regulators, mobile operators, credit organizations, Internet service providers, and identified additional measures to counteract IT crime.
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As an example, the Russian Interior Minister reported on the suppression of the activities of one of these groups:
"Employees of the Department for Combating the Illegal Use of Information and Communication Technologies of the Central Office for the city of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region detained a group of local residents from 19 to 23 years old, suspected of fraud. They searched for citizens willing to provide their bank cards, cashed the stolen money that came to them, and then transferred it to foreign accomplices. The involvement of the defendants in the commission of at least 80 crimes with damage amounting to tens of millions of rubles has been established."
It was previously established that the illegal activity began in the middle of last year. The attackers found criminal earnings through the Internet and followed the instructions of anonymous curators from abroad.
As it turned out, the detainees were involved in a criminal scheme that began with sending out an offer to vote for a contestant in a messenger. Those who agreed to comply with this request and showed inattention, inadvertently sent fraudsters a code to restore access to their account. Thus, they provided scammers with the opportunity to send messages on their behalf asking them to urgently borrow money. These funds were transferred to accounts linked to payment cards and cashed out by the defendants.
Territorial divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia initiated criminal cases on the grounds of crimes provided for in Articles 158 and 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. During the searches, 26 smartphones, 215 SIM cards, 42 bank cards, and seven pieces of computer equipment were seized from the detainees.
Four defendants were given a preventive measure in the form of recognizance not to leave and proper behavior, one is under house arrest.
• Video:
+++++
Kolokoltsev held a meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dedicated to countering IT crime
"Under the chairmanship of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, General of the Police of the Russian Federation Vladimir Kolokoltsev, a meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia was held on countering IT crimes," said Irina Volk, an official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
The head of the department called this topic extremely important and recalled that, given the degree of threat, the corresponding task is included in the national development goals of the Russian Federation, which were determined a month ago by a Presidential Decree.
The Minister gave a number of statistics:
"Since 2020, the number of attacks using information technology has increased by a third. The share of remote actions in the total array is now approaching 40%. Last year, they affected half a million people, of whom almost every fourth is a pensioner. Already this year, more than 40 thousand elderly citizens have become victims of various tricks of criminals. The amount of damage caused is significant. In total, it exceeded 210 billion rubles in 2023 and four months of this year."
Vladimir Kolokoltsev emphasized:
"Behind the dry figures are the personal tragedies of people who have lost their long-term savings and fallen into debt bondage."
The Russian Interior Minister said that the structure of IT crimes is changing, and new ways of committing such attacks are constantly emerging. A large number of people, including young people, are involved in criminal schemes for cashing out remotely stolen funds through third-party accounts. Despite the decline in the share of communications through "spoof" telephony, such facts are not completely excluded. In addition, for the purpose of deception, criminals use so-called SIM boxes, the capabilities of virtual automatic telephone exchanges, fictitious exchange platforms, "crypto exchanges", and "shadow" marketplaces.
"In the past and current years, there has been a surge in cases of illegal access to computer information. If in 2020 their share among remote trains did not exceed one percent, now it is every eighth IT act," the Head of the Department stated.
Vladimir Kolokoltsev said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and all interested agencies are taking the necessary measures to counteract these challenges, and work is underway to improve legislation. With the participation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, a number of important issues were resolved, including the suppression of the use of spoofing phone numbers, the suspension of dubious monetary transactions, additional mechanisms were developed to protect citizens ' financial assets and compensate for damage caused. Serious attention is paid to improving the" digital " literacy of the population.
Specialized units have been created in the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the number of which has increased fivefold since 2020. Algorithms for training employees are being improved, and investigation methods are being optimized to take into account the changing ways of remote crimes. Coordination of activities in this area is entrusted to the relevant department, which is formed in the central office of the department.
The meeting participants discussed in detail current aspects of cooperation with other federal executive authorities, regulators, mobile operators, credit organizations, Internet service providers, and identified additional measures to counteract IT crime.
• Video:
