Mazhilis deputy Magerram Magerramov believes that the National Bank of Kazakhstan needs to introduce a ban on electronic lending.
According to Prosud.kz, the Mazhilis member stated that the number of citizens affected by internet fraud continues to rise, despite measures taken by the authorised bodies.
"The number of people involved, knowingly or not, in such crimes, the so-called 'droppers', is also incomparably large. The damage caused amounts to billions of tenge. Criminals have all the necessary personal data of their victims, right down to information about the existence of bank accounts," said Magerram Magerramov.
He noted that out of 85 criminal cases of fraud in the lending sector, pre-trial investigation deadlines were terminated in 47 cases, including 45 cases due to the failure to identify the criminal.
"Out of 813 criminal cases of fraud involving payment cards, pre-trial investigation deadlines were terminated in 223 cases due to the failure to identify the person who committed the criminal offence. In 218 cases, the suspects are outside the jurisdiction of Kazakhstan," the report states.
The deputy stated that crimes in this category are largely unsolved, as a result of which victims are forced to repay loans for years that were taken out because of fraudsters.
"We must admit that we are virtually powerless against cybercrimes. The development of artificial intelligence is far outpacing our ability to protect against its misuse," Magerramov concluded.
To recall, it was reported the other day that fraudsters deceived a resident of the city of Akkol. Using a photo of her manager as their avatar, the criminals managed to convince the woman to take out a loan of 1 million tenge from one of the city's banks.
In September, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov at a meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission on Crime Prevention raised the issue of introducing liability for transferring databases to fraudsters.
In April, in the Zhetysu region, a woman used a family friend's smartphone to take out loans and online borrowings totalling more than 1 million tenge. Each time the victim came to their house to visit, the offender, on the pretext of checking the smartphone, took out new loans in his name. The victim had no idea until bank employees contacted him, informing him of the need to repay the loans.