Police in Kazakhstan's capital have identified a young man suspected of stealing a large sum of money from citizens. According to law enforcement, the 20-year-old resident of Astana acted as a courier in a fraudulent scheme that cost one victim 7 million tenge, reports infohub.kz.
As reported on the information media portal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the fraudsters, operating from abroad, called Kazakhstani citizens and posed as employees of various services. Under various pretexts, they obtained confirmation codes, after which the victims were contacted by individuals posing as police officers and representatives of the "e-government." Using video calls and official-looking attributes, the scammers convinced citizens that their accounts were being hacked and that they themselves could become "droppers." Under this pretext, victims were asked to withdraw money and hand it over to a special courier for "safekeeping."
It is believed that the 20-year-old suspect converted the received funds into cryptocurrency. The individual was identified during operational-search activities and was detained at his place of residence. Another similar incident has also been registered. A pre-trial investigation is currently underway.
The police warn: law enforcement and bank employees never ask citizens to hand over money to couriers or transfer it to "safe accounts." If you receive such calls, hang up and contact the relevant organization directly using official contact numbers.