Warning: Scammers are circulating a false message on Telegram that people are being distributed money

One of the common methods of online fraud in Uzbekistan is to withdraw money from people’s cards by pretending that financial aid is being distributed to everyone “by the President’s decision”.

Fraudsters use the name of well-known companies (such as CLICK), commercial banks and millionaires to claim not only aid money but also “cheap loans” and money for “such and so anniversary”.

In fact, these are all lies and scammers always use the same scheme to steal money. For example:

1. They create a fake website similar to the President’s website and spread false announcements about “financial aid” on social networks;
2. They invite you to enter through the link and get the money;
3. If you click on the link, you will be asked to enter the phone number, card number and its validity period;
4. As soon as the trapped person enters the requested information, he will receive a code via SMS and be asked to enter that code;
5. As soon as the code is entered, all money on the card will be transferred to the fraudster’s account.

The first and most important sign of fraud is asking for an SMS code

Remember, you don’t need your card’s expiration date and SMS code to transfer money at all!

Sharing the SMS code to someone is the same as giving them the money on your card.

They connect your card to them through the code and withdraw all the money from it. And that’s not all: consider that the money that will later be transferred to your card is also in the hands of fraudsters.

You are not required to do anything to receive the financial aid

In May 2022, one-time financial aid was distributed to people in need of social protection. This is the truth. But if you see a message saying that everyone is being given financial aid, click on the link and get the money, you should know that this is a scam! Because according to the procedure of distribution of financial aid, citizens are not required to make any application or appeal.

If the government actually distributes money, you will never need to click on any links to get the money. The money is either given in cash or automatically transferred to the citizen’s plastic card without his participation.

For example, when money was distributed to the vulnerable in May, all of them were paid through the program. No one was required to enter a card number, because the layer on which the financial aid is distributed, that is, citizens in need of social protection, have a plastic card to which they pay benefits every month, and the aid money is automatically transferred to that card. Those who did not have a plastic card were paid in cash.

A fake site is an easy way to spot a scam

Fraudsters post financial aid messages on a fake site. Remember, the official website of the President of Uzbekistan is President.uz. If you receive messages about financial aid, pay attention to the domain of the site, often fraudsters add some words to the name of the real site, for example, president.uz-yqanki.shop, etc.

 
If you look at the actual presidential site, there is no mention of any financial aid. Even if it is, as we mentioned above, nothing is required of you to receive the money: neither a card number nor an SMS code.

Or, if you receive messages from a bank offering a cheap loan, try looking for the bank’s official website. For example, if you search for “Kapitalbank website”, the real website of the bank will come up. You will see that the domain in the message you received is different from the domain of the bank’s official website.

Spelling mistakes and informal language

Fraudsters often distribute ads with spelling mistakes, written in street language, or translated with gross errors. From this, you can quickly determine the fakeness of the message.

Scammers can improve their deception and start writing in official language without spelling mistakes, but you have the opportunity to compare the message with official sources. “You won some game”, “You can get financial aid”, “a cheap loan offer” – be very careful about such words. Check the site domain and official sources.

“Many are being deceived by the news about the distribution of money to migrants”

One of the Uzbek labor migrants who spoke to Kun.uz says that there are many reports of fraudsters “distributing money” in groups of migrants.

“Despite the warnings, there are many people who are deceived,” he said.

Remember, if you’re being offered a link to get financial aid, it’s a scam.