Bob:
I am sitting at home in self-isolation due to the pandemic. Yesterday evening I received a wonderful SMS: allegedly, according to my geolocation, I violated the quarantine regime and must pay a fine of $ 70. In sms my name and links to all sorts of articles from the laws, police resolution and all that. And if I do not pay this fine in 24 hours, I will face criminal charges. The trick is that I haven’t gone out for a week at all, I work from home, I order food via the Internet.
The funny thing is that these penalties are $ 70. you need to drop it on some mobile phone number. And what does the police have to do with it, I think.
In general, just in case, I googled this topic, of course there is no such resolution of the Federal Penitentiary Service No. 113-421 of April 13.
It's funny, but most likely there were people who threw money to scammers. Be carefull!
Financial Culture Expert:
Scammers understand that the situation is nervous during the coronavirus period, and use any informational occasion to intimidate people and steal their money.
This time, the scammers decided to play on the emotions of those who violated the regime of self-isolation. The fraudsters sent out SMS messages demanding payment of the fine, citing fictitious decisions.
People were addressed by name and patronymic, allegedly on behalf of the public service. In fact, criminals buy databases for such mailings on the black market or collect information themselves from open sources - for example, social networks.
In order to prevent fraudsters from stealing you, in no case send money to strangers and do not provide the full details of your bank card (especially the three-digit code on its back).
Be vigilant yourself and be sure to warn your loved ones so that they always double-check the information, as Bob did.
Only employees of executive authorities, such as the police, can draw up reports on the offense and impose fines. When paying a fine, you should always carefully check the recipient's details. It cannot be a private person.
If you are faced with fraud, call the police on the number "911" from a landline phone from a mobile phone.
This is far from the first and certainly not the last scheme of deception amid a pandemic. Fraudsters extort money and bank card details in other ways:
I am sitting at home in self-isolation due to the pandemic. Yesterday evening I received a wonderful SMS: allegedly, according to my geolocation, I violated the quarantine regime and must pay a fine of $ 70. In sms my name and links to all sorts of articles from the laws, police resolution and all that. And if I do not pay this fine in 24 hours, I will face criminal charges. The trick is that I haven’t gone out for a week at all, I work from home, I order food via the Internet.
The funny thing is that these penalties are $ 70. you need to drop it on some mobile phone number. And what does the police have to do with it, I think.
In general, just in case, I googled this topic, of course there is no such resolution of the Federal Penitentiary Service No. 113-421 of April 13.
It's funny, but most likely there were people who threw money to scammers. Be carefull!
Financial Culture Expert:
Scammers understand that the situation is nervous during the coronavirus period, and use any informational occasion to intimidate people and steal their money.
This time, the scammers decided to play on the emotions of those who violated the regime of self-isolation. The fraudsters sent out SMS messages demanding payment of the fine, citing fictitious decisions.
People were addressed by name and patronymic, allegedly on behalf of the public service. In fact, criminals buy databases for such mailings on the black market or collect information themselves from open sources - for example, social networks.
In order to prevent fraudsters from stealing you, in no case send money to strangers and do not provide the full details of your bank card (especially the three-digit code on its back).
Be vigilant yourself and be sure to warn your loved ones so that they always double-check the information, as Bob did.
Only employees of executive authorities, such as the police, can draw up reports on the offense and impose fines. When paying a fine, you should always carefully check the recipient's details. It cannot be a private person.
If you are faced with fraud, call the police on the number "911" from a landline phone from a mobile phone.
This is far from the first and certainly not the last scheme of deception amid a pandemic. Fraudsters extort money and bank card details in other ways:
- They call people on behalf of city clinics and report poor test results, and then sell expensive "drugs" to frightened patients. Later, people find that they have bought regular nutritional supplements.
- It is reported that the person allegedly contacted an infected person and specialists went to him to conduct a paid analysis for coronavirus. They ask to transfer $ 70 in advance for the procedure and, having received the money, disappear.
- Collect money to develop a vaccine under the guise of the World Health Organization.
- They offer "compensation" for canceled flights on behalf of airlines in exchange for secret bank card details.
- They copy popular sites: they create phishing pages on the Internet, disguising themselves as sites for delivery services, online stores, as well as services for video conferencing.
