Nearly 30 cases of people being contacted by individuals posing as eGov employees have been recorded in Kazakhstan over the past month. In one incident, a resident of Taraz transferred over 2 million tenge to third parties after receiving messages about loans allegedly taken out in her name.
HOW THE SCHEME WORKS
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, fraudsters impersonate eGov employees and inform citizens about an allegedly issued electronic digital signature (EDS) or other actions carried out in their name.
Accomplices then join the conversation. They claim that loans are being taken out in the person's name and, under the pretext of preventing illegal transactions, persuade them to transfer money to specified accounts.
WHAT HAPPENED IN TARAZ
In one such case, an unknown man called a resident of Taraz and introduced himself as an eGov employee. He said that an EDS had allegedly been issued in her name.
Later, other individuals contacted the woman via WhatsApp. They claimed that loans had allegedly been taken out in her name at seven banks. Falling for these messages, the woman transferred more than 2 million tenge to third-party accounts.
A pre-trial investigation is underway into this matter.
HOW MANY SUCH CASES WERE RECORDED
Over the past month, nearly 30 instances of fraudsters posing as eGov employees were identified in Kazakhstan.
At the same time, the overall number of internet fraud cases decreased by 14.8% — from 17,200 to 14,600 cases.
WHAT THE PROSECUTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE ADVISES
The Prosecutor General's Office urges citizens not to transfer money on the instructions of unknown individuals. Employees of government agencies and services do not ask people over the phone to take out loans or transfer funds to "safe accounts".
Citizens are also advised not to share SMS codes, passwords, bank card details and EDS with strangers. If you receive a suspicious call, you should end the conversation and independently contact the relevant government agency or bank through official channels.
CONTEXT
Earlier, a darknet forum user under the nickname shymzz13 put up for sale a database which, he claimed, contained the personal data of 15 million residents of Kazakhstan. The seller stated that he had obtained the information after hacking the government service eGov.
Later, the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development stated, that there had been no hacking of systems. According to the ministry, the archive presented consisted of random files and images that were not connected to eGov's infrastructure.
As noted by experts from the Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN), the publication became an example of how unconfirmed reports of major data leaks can spread quickly online.
