In the Kyrgyz Republic, the illegal activities of a group of individuals engaged in activating accounts in popular messengers such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Lalafo using phone numbers from the country's mobile operators have been halted. This was reported by the press service of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) of the Kyrgyz Republic.
According to the state committee, so-called "drop channels" were also identified, which found citizens, persuading them to sell their own bank cards. These accounts and cards were then transferred to international fraudsters via the Telegram messenger to carry out voice phishing attacks aimed at stealing money from citizens.
In particular, the criminals, posing as employees of the SCNS and workers of the National Bank, called citizens, accusing them of connections with terrorist groups and threatening criminal prosecution for financing terrorism. "At the same time, the criminal group sent letters to the victims with accusations, allegedly on behalf of the leadership of the SCNS, using fake letterheads and signatures," the message clarified.
As a result of operational activities carried out by SCNS employees within the framework of a criminal case, the following individuals were detained:
- A.B.N., born on 19.02.2008, (held in custody at IK-14 in the village of Voznesenovka, Panfilov district for two months);
- A.E.K., born on 09.07.2006, (arrested in SIZO-1 in Bishkek for a period of two months);
- R.Sh.K., born on 22.05.1999, (previously convicted multiple times for fraud), (held in custody in the SCNS SIZO for two months);
- Zh.K.R., born on 12.11.2001, (has convictions for robbery and fraud), (held in custody in the SCNS SIZO for two months);
- T.B.Sh., born on 12.02.2009, (released under parental obligations);
- A.u.S., born on 30.04.2004, (previously convicted for murder and accused of fraud), (held in custody in the SCNS SIZO for two months);
- A.A.A., born on 24.09.2008, (released under parental obligations);
- K.I., born on 18.07.2009, (released under parental obligations);
- Dzh.S.A., born on 01.06.1996, (held in custody in SIZO-1 in Bishkek for two months).
Currently, SCNS employees continue investigative actions to identify other accomplices of the phone fraudsters in the territory of Kyrgyzstan in order to bring them to criminal responsibility.
