The 10 most common tricks of scammers are named

The creativity of swindlers is limitless, which is why there are many ways to deceive people. Some of them are used more often than others due to their simplicity and reliability. At the Moscow prosecutor's office named 10 most common tricks.

1. A call from a bank employee or law enforcement representative. The attacker on the other line reports that the victim’s savings are at risk, so they urgently need to be transferred to a “safe account.”

2. A call from a relative who was involved in an accident. This method is used mainly with elderly people whose “relative” caused the accident. They are offered to pay money for his treatment or not be prosecuted.

3. SMS mailing with malware. In this case, the victim receives a message on his phone asking for some kind of help. After clicking on the specified link, the attackers gain access to her phone.

4. A message from a false leader. The employer allegedly asks to communicate with a certain “curator”, who then gets in touch and asks to participate in a “secret operation” to catch criminals.

5. Internet dating. New acquaintances introduce themselves as foreigners, swear their love, and then, under various pretexts, extract money (for a ticket, visa, insurance, and so on).

6. Fraud under the pretext of investments. Scammers, under the guise of employees of a brokerage company, call people or place ads on the Internet, offering quick and huge earnings with minimal investment.

7. Easy money on the Internet. For example, for reactions on social networks or promotion of goods on marketplaces. Sometimes small amounts are actually transferred to the victim in order to dull his vigilance.

8. Exchange and declaration of funds. Scammers call and introduce themselves as a specialist from the financial department or social service. Then they inform you that you need to declare all savings or exchange them for new money.

9. Erroneous money transfer. In this scheme, scammers simply send the victim an SMS about an allegedly erroneous transfer and asking them to return it to the specified phone number.

10. Compensation for a previously purchased low-quality product/call from a false doctor. In the first case, the victim is contacted by a law enforcement officer who offers to return the money for a bad product, but after paying a tax, duty or reimbursement of expenses. In the second, there is a medical worker reporting a “terrible disease.”

In order to avoid becoming another victim of scammers, the prosecutor's office recommends immediately stopping communication with strangers who, under various pretexts, convince you to transfer or give them money.