The head of the 9th department (operational search and partnership in the field of information technologies) of the Cybercrime Countermeasures Department in Kyiv, police captain Andriy Parkhomenko, provided information and recommendations on what to do when a supposedly familiar person asks to borrow money in a personal message on a social network messenger. This may be someone you haven't communicated with for a long time, but there is a risk that the person's page has been hacked by scammers.
An acquaintance can be a friend, relative, colleague, etc. They send you a personal message in a messenger*, including a social network.
*Messenger is a free mobile messaging application used for instant messaging, sharing photos, videos, audio recordings, and group chats. Examples of messengers: viber, whats app, telegram, messenger facebook, direct instagram, etc.
She asks you to lend her money (usually to transfer to the bank card she provided or to top up her mobile phone number). This could be someone you haven't talked to for a long time or, on the contrary, you talk to very often. The main thing in this case is that scammers may have hacked this person's messenger or social network account (taken control of the account) and are asking you for money on behalf of your friend.
*Account — a person's account in some registration system and the information associated with such an entry.
*A social network is a service (internet platform) for supporting social connections on the Internet. An important element of a social network is the content (content, information) created by users (account owners on this network).
If this really happened, then the actions of these individuals are called fraud. Fraud is the taking of someone else's property or the acquisition of rights to property through deception or abuse of trust.
Liability for committing fraud is regulated by Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and is provided for from a fine in the amount of two thousand non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens to twelve years of imprisonment with confiscation of property, depending on the amount of damage caused and the number of persons committing fraudulent acts.
Remember:
Contact the person through another channel (phone, mail, other messenger) and ask about the message.
If the person did not send a message:
- Tell her that her account was hacked.
- Advise them to change their messenger password and enable two-factor authentication.
- Ask to report the incident to the Cyber Police and CERT-UA.
- Don't trust a caller just because they know your personal information (scammers can find it on the Internet).
Note:
- Friends don't ask for money in messengers - check twice!
- Someone else's account can become a fraudulent tool!
- Don't rush to help online — it could be a trap!
- Make sure this is really your friend!
- Borrowing online means you risk losing more!
If you have become a victim of fraud, immediately contact your bank to block your card and submit an electronic appeal to the cyber police at https://ticket.cyberpolice.gov.ua.
In addition to the above information, we ask you to join the social project "BRAMA" - a project that was created with the support of the Cyber Police of Ukraine and volunteer organizations to combat disinformation and block illegal content.
The senior operational officer of the 9th department (operational search and partnership in the field of information technologies) of the Cybercrime Countermeasures Department in the city of Kyiv, Police Captain Igor Chepur, noted and emphasized that the main goal is to cleanse the information space of Russian propaganda and disinformation distribution services, as well as to destroy centers of illegal distribution of prohibited content.
The mission is to quantitatively reduce the presence of Russians spreading propaganda materials in the media space and to qualitatively teach how to identify and dispose of hostile content.
To be part of the project, users only need to have a mobile phone or computer and a little time that the user is willing to devote to an important cause.
The task of participants is to send complaints about the posts, services, links, etc. provided by us. The more complaints, the greater the likelihood of blocking the content.
We invite you to join us. to the social project "BRAMA".
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