An Almaty resident, Zukhra Valiyeva, learned by chance that four secret bank accounts existed in her name — after strangers began calling her demanding that she return the money, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to the Almaty woman, fraudsters used a fake video to pass biometric verification, opened four accounts in her name and, in just six days, ran almost 36 million tenge through them. The victim said she did not even recognize herself in the video.
“A bank employee showed me the video verification. I just burst out laughing hysterically. I said: ‘That's not me.’ The wrinkles aren't mine, the hair color, the sweater — some man-like robot ends up laughing at the end. It turns its head this way and that, and at the end the robot has this smile. And I realized I had come up against a really sophisticated cyberattack,” Zukhra Valiyeva said.
Police refused to open a criminal case, citing the fact that the Almaty woman herself suffered no financial loss. Courts, however, have begun accepting claims from people to whom the money was transferred, demanding the return of millions despite a review by the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market. The agency identified violations in the bank's failure to conduct proper due diligence when establishing a business relationship.
Meanwhile, the woman intends to file an appeal with the court.