Authorities in the Atyrau Region have blocked around 3,000 phishing websites and fake advertisements using the Cybercontrol program, the regional police department reported. In addition, the Anti-Fraud Center system blocked the transfer of more than 21.2 million tenge belonging to victims, according to infohub.kz.
Since the start of the year, 484 fraud cases have been registered in the region, ranging from fake advertisements to the theft of money through phone calls. Of these, 126 have been solved, and 38 people have been identified as involved in the crimes.
The Anti-Fraud Center system has logged 748 cases of online fraud. The period covered by these data was not specified in the report.
Since the launch of the Anti-fraud Call center, operators have received 58,181 calls and intercepted 14,140 fraudulent ones. Together with Kazakhtelecom, authorities prevented another 116 instances of citizens transferring money to scammers.
During investigative operations, police uncovered false advertisements for the sale of household appliances and apartment rentals, offers of assistance in obtaining loans, and promises of investment income. They also found cases of illegal use of bank cards.
Criminal cases have been opened on these facts. Some have been sent to court, while investigations continue in the others.
Police held 22 meetings at educational institutions, reaching 9,700 schoolchildren and students. Participants were told about common fraud schemes and ways to protect themselves.
Awareness efforts were also carried out among employees of oil companies, medical organizations, banks, and government agencies. Volunteers and district inspectors distributed more than 25,000 information brochures.
Police urged citizens to verify the reliability of sellers before transferring money, not to share bank card details or SMS codes with strangers. They also recommend avoiding suspicious links and treating advertisements promising easy money with caution.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that over the past three years, the number of internet fraud cases in Kazakhstan has decreased by 40%, while their clearance rate has risen by almost 30%. According to the government, victims were compensated 5.9 billion tenge, and the National Bank's Anti-Fraud Center blocked the withdrawal of more than 117 billion tenge.