A trap for Ukrainians: scammers have come up with new schemes to rob people

Fraud is rampant in Ukraine. Compared to 2022, the number of scams has increased almost two and a half times. Fraudsters are constantly coming up with new schemes to scam citizens.

On August 20, the Verkhovna Rada ratified an agreement between Ukraine and the European Union on cooperation on the issue of combating fraud. And, as Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine for European Integration Yuriy Draganchuk said, there will be an exchange of information, there will be assistance in conducting financial investigations, in training specialists, operational and technical support for certain bodies fighting illegal activities.

“Ukraine’s participation in the EU anti-fraud program will provide the necessary knowledge and professional training in the field of protecting the financial interests of Ukraine and the EU, and will also strengthen Ukraine’s institutional capacity in developing an anti-fraud system according to European standards,” the Deputy Minister noted.

Meanwhile, swindlers are not sitting idle. On the eve of September 1, scammers figured out how to steal money from Ukrainians using school chats from Viber and Telegram. On behalf of the school principal or class teacher, they collect money for the needs of the class - from 100 to a thousand hryvnia from each student.

Fraudsters learn information about the director or class teacher from open sources - social networks or the website of the educational institution. Find the phone number that is being targeted for a phishing attack. For example, they send fake offers to win a lottery or a gift from a well-known brand, messages about the need to install software to protect your computer, and others. And as soon as you click on a harmful link, the scammers already have the necessary data and they open a collection on behalf of the teacher or school principal.

By the way, as cybersecurity experts note, after the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov, Ukrainians began receiving messages about the deletion of their Telegram account. But in fact, this is a way to take control of an account that is a source of income: you can use it for subscriptions, advertising, and ask friends for financial help. Residents of Zaporozhye have already encountered the latter. Fraudsters defrauded 11 people of $5,000 and almost 100,000 hryvnia, who were sent a Telegram message on behalf of their mutual friend. Only after the money was transferred, it turned out that she did not ask for financial assistance and did not write anything to anyone. Her account fell into the hands of scammers and they cheated her friends on her behalf because the money was transferred to their account.

Ukrainians are stepping on the same rake

The police say that they don’t warn Ukrainians about the danger, what useful advice they didn’t give out, for example, check the information received before parting with money, don’t click on dubious links about supposedly big winnings, don’t tell anyone payment card details, etc. There are still people who believe scammers. This is how a resident of Ivano-Frankivsk started a virtual romance with “the sailor Thomas from London.” One day, almost the “groom” wrote to the Ukrainians that his ship was captured by pirates, and he was taken prisoner. Therefore, “Sailor Thomas” urgently sent valuables and documents to the applicant for safekeeping. And she received a message from an air delivery agent saying that the valuable cargo was already at customs and she had to pay a “customs fee” of 52 thousand hryvnia. It is clear that she did not receive any parcel after she transferred the money to an unknown account. But she didn’t even think about how “a sailor captured by pirates somewhere in Africa could run to the post office and send valuables.”

“Let’s say that today most of the scams are related to the fee for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This happened before, starting in 2014, but today it has simply become widespread and has even relegated nightly calls to the background: “Your relative is in trouble, he needs money.” True, at one time they called that your relative was in the TCC and if you want to fire him, give the messenger 1000-3000 dollars. Actually, three thousand is the average fare for not going to school. But this scheme did not take root. But there are many cases of deception of “evaders”, who are offered for money to be “written unfit for service”, or promised to help cross the border. Scammers always “keep their nose to the wind”, come up with various new or improve old schemes. Very soon the police will be inundated with statements from grandfathers who have become victims of the “currency reform,” since the government has decided to withdraw the old-style 500 hryvnia from circulation, leaving only the new one,” says criminologist Vasily Kravchenko.

There are more scammers due to the war

At the same time, the number of scams has increased exponentially, as reported to Apostrophe by the Office of the Prosecutor General. If in 2022, from January to July, 15,581 criminal proceedings were opened under the article “Fraud,” then for the same period in 2024, 49,012. But this is not yet known about all cases of fraud.

As forensic expert Yuri Irkhin notes, fraud peaks at any social crisis, when people lose faith in justice, power, etc. This is when a fertile field for speculation on people’s feelings arises, as is now happening with raising money for the army.

“As soon as current stressful events occur in society, scammers immediately become active. Let us remember the explosion of Okhmatdyt, as soon as the tragedy occurred, the swindlers immediately began collecting money. But against the background of grief, destruction, death, illness, people often tend to trust relationships. A person is looking for support, understanding, and scammers know how to take advantage of this, how to get into their souls and pockets. Today is a time of total grief and misfortune, from which scammers are profiting, deliberately abusing trust and misleading Ukrainians,” emphasizes Yuriy Irkhin.

Ukrainians should be alert and check who they are dealing with before trusting. Clarify information, consult with specialists and relatives, and do not rush to part with your money so as not to fall into the hands of scammers.