The Bolashak International Programmes Centre has warned its scholars and alumni about an increase in cases of fraud.
According to the centre's press office, fraudsters are contacting people on behalf of 'Bolashak' asking them to provide verification codes from SMS or to transfer money.
"The Centre for International Programmes never requests verification codes or asks for money. All official information is sent through our official communication channels or coordinators. Be vigilant! Do not share personal data with third parties. If such cases occur, contact law enforcement authorities", the statement reads.
As reported by Informburo.kz, the centre's press office also responded to how scholars' data ended up in the hands of fraudsters.
"In the case of a data leak concerning one of the scholars, the cause was the scholar's own hacked email account, which contained emails from our centre. We want to emphasise that the responsibility for data security lies with the user themselves," the centre reported.
Earlier, an appeal from Natalya Vorobyova and Makpal Daribayeva to President Tokayev appeared online – individuals who acted as guarantors for a former participant of the 'Bolashak' programme. It emerged that because ex-scholar Valeriya Gavrilenko is not in the country, the Centre was unable to recover her tuition debt from her. However, three years later, Bolashak presented the debt of nearly 30 million tenge to the guarantors.
In May, the Centre commented on the guarantors' statement, saying that Daribayeva and Vorobyova, by signing the agreement, assumed full responsibility for the fulfilment of all the scholar's obligations.
In June, the parties involved in the case concerning the recovery of the 'Bolashak' international scholarship reached a settlement. Valeriya Gavrilenko agreed to return 28.7 million tenge, which otherwise, according to the contract, would have had to be paid by Daribayeva and Vorobyova.