Roskachestvo has uncovered a new microloan fraud scheme

Roskachestvo has uncovered a new fraudulent scheme involving the issuance of microloans to Russians: criminals, posing as couriers, call victims and ask them to provide a code from an SMS that allegedly comes from official stores, TASS writes.

As specified, under the guise of marketplace couriers, fraudsters call Russians and ask for a code from an SMS, supposedly necessary to receive a parcel, after which the victim receives a code from a real store. However, this code is actually used to confirm an application for a microloan in a microfinance organization (MFO), according to a report from Roskachestvo.

By trusting and providing the code, the victim involuntarily confirms the loan. The fraudsters, having gained access to the funds, spend them on purchasing a large batch of goods in the store. The sources of the victims' personal data can be different: from hacked store databases to leaked information from microfinance organizations.

After the loan is issued and the money is stolen, the fraudsters usually do not stop. They sell the victim's data to other MFIs, which leads to a barrage of spam calls and SMS with credit offers.

Roskachestvo assumes that behind each successful scam there is a network of criminals: some hack databases, others issue loans, and others are engaged in wholesale sales of stolen goods. The department noted that online stores serve as a convenient platform for sales, allowing criminals to remain anonymous. Therefore, seeing new high-quality goods at extremely low prices on such sites, it is worth thinking about, - noted the head of the Center for Digital Expertise Sergey Kuzmenko.

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