Police have urged citizens not to trust false messages about winning a smartphone that are spreading through social networks. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
How scammers operate
According to police, scammers create fake pages and accounts on popular social networks and send citizens messages claiming they have won an expensive smartphone.
"To gain trust, the attackers say they will send the prize by mail and ask the person to fill out a special questionnaire," police said.
To do this, citizens are asked for personal data — their full name, email address, postal code and exact residential address.
Demanding an "advance payment"
After that, the scammers, under the pretext of delivering the prize, demand a money transfer for an "advance payment", "delivery fee" or "shipping costs".
However, after the payment is made, the promised smartphone or other prize is never sent.
Police warnings
Police warn:
- 01treat with caution messages about a random prize you have won on social networks;
- 02do not enter your personal data via unknown links;
- 03do not trust messages demanding a money transfer to receive a prize;
- 04do not give strangers your bank card details, SMS codes or other confidential information;
- 05report suspicious pages and messages to the social network's administration and block them.
What to do if you become a victim
If you have become a victim of scammers or encountered a suspicious situation, you must immediately contact the police.