The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has systematized the main methods of psychological pressure used by scammers to force people to withdraw cash and transfer it via ATMs. As reported by the Ministry's press center, the schemes are based on social engineering: criminals call pretending to be bank security or law enforcement, threaten account hacking, and persuade victims to immediately withdraw all their money.
The victim is forced to delete their banking application and install a "new" one via a sent link, after which the funds deposited through the ATM immediately go to the criminals. The key mechanism of influence is the creation of fear and despair. The person is not given time to think, and to enhance the effect, the scammers impersonate FSB officers, police, telecom operators, or utility services.
The main weapon of fraudsters is not technical hacking, but manipulation. They create an illusion of urgency and exploit the authority of state and banking structures. While banks strengthen the protection of digital channels, vulnerability has shifted towards the human factor – and here, the only barrier can be critical thinking and the habit of immediately interrupting the conversation at the first signs of pressure.
Earlier, "Perviy Tekhnicheskiy" wrote about a new scam involving "account replacement" at the Central Bank: the victim is threatened with a criminal case, forced to withdraw cash from an ATM, and then immediately deposit it using the criminals' details – under the guise of transferring to a "secure account at the Central Bank." This is the same combination of fear and the illusion of officialdom that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has now systematized.
Read more on the topic:
- "Performances" of fraudsters with dozens of participants: Ministry of Internal Affairs talks about five "acts" of pressure on victims
- Russians Explained How Scammers Convince People to Download Malware: Several Tricky Schemes
- Fraudsters are lulling Russians into a false sense of security: instead of a "safe account," they have started using new wording