New scammers on social media: Emerging traders, driving license in 2 days, and financial pyramid under the Masdar mask

In 2024, tens of thousands of people in Uzbekistan were deceived by various projects promoting easy ways to make money. Some were financial pyramids disguised as initiatives to help the needy or promote environmental sustainability. These scammers managed to earn millions of dollars in Uzbekistan. Even community leaders, school and kindergarten directors played their part in promoting these fraudulent schemes. Such projects, which aimed to deceive people and swindle their money, are still active in 2025.

If we say that 2024 was the year of financial pyramids in Uzbekistan, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration: the year started with the “Parker” financial pyramid, which convinced people to invest in power bank rentals to earn big profits, and ended with the HNK media company, which promoted earning money by watching videos. In between, Uzbekistanis were deceived by various financial pyramids such as “Sun Eco,” which encouraged people to invest in solar panels, “Whats” and “Aif,” which promised money for watching videos, “Blue Culture” under the guise of environmental protection, and “Дари получай” (Give and Receive), a gift-sharing pyramid. Even TV channels, newspapers, local leaders, and heads of educational institutions actively promoted these schemes. As a result, thousands of Uzbekistanis invested in these projects and lost their money.

These types of financial pyramids and scams, which promise to do simple tasks in exchange for money, are still ongoing.

The Masdar mask

At the beginning of the year, a financial pyramid called “Sun Eco,” related to solar panels, appeared. The “Masdar” project is also related to solar panels.

Masdar, a UAE-based company known for building solar and wind power plants, is recognized globally. This is why scammers have exploited its name. Just like the scammers used the name of WhatsApp for their scams, they have now used the name of Masdar.

The Masdar financial pyramid follows the typical structure: you invest a certain amount, and you earn profits. Solar panels are presented as the source of income.

According to reports, if you invest 220,000 UZS, you will earn 9,240 UZS per day, which amounts to 1,663,000 UZS over 180 days. The more money you invest, the higher your daily earnings. There is also an option to earn bonuses by inviting others. These promises are nothing more than bait to deceive people.

There is no information about such a project on the official website of the United Arab Emirates-based Masdar company. In fact, it is not difficult to verify this. However, people who are eager to make quick profits and prone to being deceived often fall for such schemes.

The traps of traders

People who believe in the lies of traders promising to turn 1 million UZS into 19 million UZS in just two hours can be called “easy targets.” These are always the victims of “unscrupulous hunters,” because those with even a little economic knowledge and awareness of current events would not believe such nonsense.

Traders promising to multiply people's money in just a few hours have become active on social media. Many people are falling into their traps.

For instance, in one such Telegram channel (which has nearly 31,000 subscribers), they promise to turn 1 million UZS into 19 million UZS in two hours.

The admin of the channel, who calls it “Komiljon Trading,” asks people to send the investment to a card under the name of Shokhsanam Dodojobirova. The swindled money is most likely transferred to crypto-assets or other forms of international transfers, disappearing with no trace.

There are dozens of similar channels and groups on Telegram, and they continue to deceive people. Some individuals, after sending their money, even claim that they earned quick returns and that this is legitimate.

In reality, there is no such economic efficiency in any country in the world. This is simply a scam to steal people’s money.

Need a driving license? No problem!

Scams promising to issue driving licenses in just 1-2 days have become more widespread on social media. This type of fraud has been observed before, and a group of criminals involved in this scam was previously arrested.

Those promising to issue driving licenses in a short period are simply trying to steal people’s money.

Here’s how the scam works: they promise to issue a driving license within 1-2 days with no exams or other hassles, for a fee. “You pay the money, and we will get the driving license and send it to you by mail. Everything is legal,” say the scammers.

In the groups and channels opened for this “service,” fake photos of driving licenses issued in customers' names are posted.

Some even claim that they received their license within 2 days and that everything was legitimate, reassuring others. This leads some to fall for the scam and lose their money.

Scammers even promise to solve related issues for 4 million UZS for category “B” licenses and 4.8 million UZS for category “C” licenses. They also promise to solve the issue of a revoked license for 5 million UZS. Payments are typically made via card transfers.

The fraud is simple: the customer believes the offer, sends the money, and the scammer blocks them, disappearing without a trace. Unfortunately, even though the fraud is clearly visible, there are still people falling for it.

Kun.uz urges our fellow citizens to always be vigilant, avoid investing their money in dubious projects, and not fall victim to scams.