Suspicious videos featuring Kazakhstan's state symbols are spreading on TikTok, promising citizens over 18 that their loans and fines up to 5 million tenge will be written off. Users are asked to follow a link in the profile description. The Center for Combating Disinformation has warned about the risks of this scheme, infohub.kz reports.
Center experts examined the links and identified several red flags. "The site imitates an allegedly official social assistance service. The user is asked to enter their year of birth, after which they are told they qualify for the program and prompted to go to Telegram. A countdown timer creates a sense of urgency and pushes for quick action. By confirming authorization in Telegram, the user essentially grants outsiders access to their account, personal messages, and related data," the center warned.
A specialized service classified the resource as phishing and spam. It also turned out that at the time of checking, the domain had been registered about 17 days earlier. The center believes this fact alone does not prove fraud, but combined with other signs it raises suspicions. "The combination of these signs points to a phishing risk under the pretext of receiving state assistance," the Center for Combating Disinformation said.
Kazakhstanis were given several recommendations on how to spot a suspicious website. First, check the domain name: official Kazakh government resources use domains in the .gov.kz zone, and many other official organizations use .kz. Most often, the names of government agency and organization websites are written in Latin script using Kazakh words and their abbreviations.
Also, pay attention to unusual domains. If unfamiliar zones such as .cfd, .xyz, .top, or .click appear after the site name, that is a reason to check the resource more carefully. Do not trust appearance alone: state symbols, logos, and secure connection labels do not confirm that a site belongs to a government agency.
It is also recommended to verify promises — information about loan and fine write-offs should be sought on official government resources. Do not confirm suspicious authorizations or grant access to Telegram and other accounts if you are not sure to whom and what rights are being given. If a suspicious login has already been confirmed, check active Telegram sessions, terminate unfamiliar sessions, and enable two-step authentication.
"Scammers carefully design every stage of user engagement: they promise to write off debts, offer financial assistance, or use current social issues to build trust and push people toward desired actions. Behind seemingly convincing posts may be phishing schemes aimed at gaining access to personal data and accounts. Therefore, it is important not to give in to loud promises, verify information through official sources, and treat links and authorization requests with caution," the center concluded.