How can you protect yourself from scammers?

Stories about online shopping fraud affect not only buyers but also sellers. Diera shared her experience of encountering fraud on the Olx platform.

“I was selling my motorcycle, and a man contacted me asking to write to him on Telegram, sharing his username. I messaged him, and he started negotiating. I lowered the price a bit, and everything seemed fine. I sent him the motorcycle's location. He asked if he could transfer the money to my bank card. I agreed and sent him my number, thinking he would come the next day to see the motorcycle and decide whether to transfer the money or not. But he immediately sent a link to Click and claimed he had transferred the money via a voucher, asking me to click the link,” Diera recounted.

She refused to click the link, explaining that it wouldn’t open, although in reality, Diera hadn’t even tried to access it due to her bitter experience with unfamiliar links. However, the buyer on Olx insisted that he had sent the money and demanded that she click the link.

She then suggested cancelling the transfer and paying in cash, to which the buyer responded with refusal and aggressively insisted on clicking the link.

Diera quickly realized she was dealing with a scammer when he persistently demanded she click the link. She told him that she was aware of his tricks and suggested meeting near a law enforcement agency to activate the link there. After that, the man blocked her.

Methods of internet fraud in online shopping are diverse and constantly evolving. These stories are among the most common in Uzbekistan.

The next story was presented by Irgashev Azizbek, a responsible employee of the Cybersecurity Center of the Operational Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan.

A young man who defrauded people on the Olx platform under the guise of selling an iPhone X was apprehended.

A 33-year-old resident of the Khatyrchin district in the Navoi region, Sh.S., reported to the police that 1.3 million sums had been debited from his bank card.

Cybersecurity officials established that the crime was committed by a 23-year-old resident of the Fergana region, S.Y. He posted a fake advertisement on the Olx platform, gained Sh.S.'s trust over the phone, and asked him to transfer 1.3 million sums to his bank card.

After receiving the money, the suspect deleted the conversation and stopped answering calls.

A criminal case has been initiated based on part “g” of part 3 of article 168 (fraud using an information system, including information technologies) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan. An investigation and operational search activities are underway to determine S.Y.'s involvement in other similar crimes.

What should you do to prevent such cases and protect yourself?

An employee provided an answer to this question for Anhor.uz and emphasized the importance of the following measures:

Reputation: Before making a purchase, check reviews about the seller and their rating on independent platforms;

Payment: Pay for goods only upon receipt. Avoid transferring money to unknown individuals.

Payment Methods: Prefer verified payment systems and avoid direct transfers or other unsafe methods, particularly links, files, and folders.

Personal Data: Never share your bank card details or SMS codes with third parties.

Contact Verification: If there is no phone number for calls on the Instagram page or channel, only a link to a Telegram manager (without contact numbers for calls), be cautious and avoid interacting with that company.

If you encounter a similar situation and your money has been stolen, you should call 102 or 1102.

The editorial team of Anhor.uz conducted an experiment. You can find the material on the website.