A district criminal court in Astana has convicted 24 members of a transnational organized group, sentencing each to eight years in prison for their role in a SIM-box fraud operation. The verdict has not yet entered into force, according to the Karaganda Region Prosecutor's Office, which prosecuted the case, as reported by infohub.kz.
The court found that the group's members had clearly defined roles and that their actions were coordinated by organizers. Most of the defendants had arrived in Kazakhstan from Russia. Some of them traveled to Russia on the organizers' orders to pick up equipment.
Recruits were mainly found through Telegram. They were instructed to travel to a specific city, rent accommodation, receive or deliver a SIM-box device, connect it to the internet, insert SIM cards from Kazakh mobile operators, and keep the equipment running. They were paid between $50 and $100 per day for this work.
Fraudulent calls were made to citizens through numbers connected to the SIM-box. The callers posed as employees of government agencies, banks, Kazpost, and other organizations. They obtained confirmation codes and persuaded people to take out loans and transfer money.
The prosecution described Telegram chats found on the convicted individuals' phones as key evidence. The messages contained instructions on installing and maintaining the equipment, replacing SIM cards, carrying out tasks, and sending reports to coordinators. The defendants denied guilt, but the court found the evidence sufficient to return a guilty verdict.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that scammers are increasingly using modern technology and artificial intelligence to steal money from Kazakhstanis. Talant Kaliyev, a prosecutor with the Astana Prosecutor's Office, warned that criminals may trick people into revealing SMS codes and bank card details, send links to fake websites, and imitate the voices of relatives. Kazakhstanis were advised not to share confirmation codes, passwords, or card details with strangers, not to install remote-access applications, and to verify suspicious calls through official channels.