Look in profile: Ukrainian scammers started buying Russian schoolchildren's accounts
Ukrainians have started buying up the accounts of Russian schoolchildren. Their names can be used to commit various crimes, from fraud to calls for terrorist attacks and "mining" schools. "Izvestia" found out who will be held responsible for such messages and why it is important to teach children to protect their profiles in social networks.
Buying up accounts
Ukrainian scammers have started buying up Russian schoolchildren's accounts in social networks. Then they send out calls for sabotage and false messages about terrorist attacks, the Telegram channel Shot reports.
According to the channel, schoolchildren are paid a small sum for their accounts: on average, 700-1000 rubles. After that, from the pages "mined" different institutions, such as schools, hospitals and kindergartens.
One such story was uncovered in the Primorsky Krai. Criminals bought the profile of a 17-year-old teenager, and then infiltrated from it into someone else's work chat room and began to spread banned slogans. The owner of the account was complained to the police, and now the officers are conducting a check.
At the same time, experts note that there are still cases when fraudsters simply hack into the accounts of Russians. Basically, they do it with the help of phishing links that are sent out in social networks and messengers.
- But lately they prefer to buy accounts rather than just hack because it's faster, easier and guarantees access to someone else's profile. Buying bypasses complex security systems and provides a ready-made account with a history, which increases trust," Marina Probets, an Internet analyst and expert at Gazinformservice, explained to Izvestia.
Criminal industry
As Evgenia Lazareva, coordinator of the Moshelovka platform, explains, the buying and selling of accounts in social networks and games is a whole industry that has been developing for years. In the Russian segment of the Internet there are specialized exchanges and marketplaces of both brand new and "warmed up" accounts tied to virtual and physical SIM cards.
- Everything on these sites is like in any other segment of Internet commerce - user reliability checks, guarantees of safe transactions, warnings about fraud, paid advertisements, and so on," Lazareva tells Izvestia.
According to her, the value and price of lots on the sites are assigned based on their reality and originality (fake, reserve / duplicate) content and activity (sticker packs, subscriptions to groups, friends and subscribers, likes, topics and frequency of posts, progress and achievements in games), investments (paid stickers, gifts), the reputation of the lot (no bans and complaints) and the seller (the number and reliability of transactions, reviews). The price range starts from 10 rubles and higher.
A similar segment exists in Telegram - there are also channels where users sell or exchange their accounts in social networks, games and messengers.
Ukrainians buying up Russian children's accounts find them on similar platforms. At the same time, they can not only purchase profiles to fraudulently use them or call for sabotage, but also simply hack them.
As experts note, usually platforms (social networks and others) block accounts whose owners violate its rules and laws of the country, spreading prohibited content or information. But the sale of a profile can still turn into problems for a person, including a criminal case.
Criminal liability
Giving or selling access to the account to unauthorized people, you can really get under suspicion under several articles of the UVF of the Russian Federation. It is not a fact that the careless "businessman" will be convicted, but in the process of investigation he will definitely have to give testimony and explanations, provide correspondence, survive the procedures of search and seizure of devices.
- A good lawyer with specialization in such cases, quite likely, will be able to prove the account seller's non-involvement in various posts and calls. But you will have to find him and pay for his services," says Evgenia Lazareva, the coordinator of Moshelovka.
In general, says lawyer Sean Betrozov, the main danger of selling an account in social networks is that attackers can use it for a variety of illegal activities. In addition to false reports of terrorist attacks and calls for sabotage, an account can be used to distribute extremist material, cyberbullying, fraud, hacking into other accounts, or simply identity theft. Each of these scenarios can lead to criminal or administrative liability not only for the perpetrators, but also for the original owner of the account, if the investigation proves his involvement.
In the case of the Primorsky schoolboy and similar ones, the lawyer says, the person could face punishment under two articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: 306 ("Knowingly false denunciation") and 280.4 ("Public calls to carry out activities against the security of the state"). The maximum sentences under these articles are two years and six years of imprisonment, respectively.
- It is important to realize that even if the teenager did not know how his account would be used, the fact of transferring access can already be considered as participation in criminal activity, - says the lawyer.
Protection of children
According to Izvestia experts, the main thing that should be done to protect children is to explain to them that they should not give access to their account to anyone, even for money. Besides, you should not give your SIM-card to someone else or make other accounts registered to yourself to sell to strangers, says Sarkis Shmavonyan, manager for work with educational organizations of Cyberprotect company.
- A social network account is not only personal information, but also a unique digital identity. Passing the login and password to third parties gives them full freedom of action on behalf of the owner. And in case of detection of illegal activity, the responsibility first of all falls on the owner, since it is he who is registered in the system. Proving that crimes were committed by third parties can be extremely difficult. Investigations require complex technical expertise, analyzing IP addresses and other digital information. Even if the expertise confirms the innocence of the owner, it will take considerable time, during which the person may be under investigation," explains lawyer Sean Betrozov.
The chance to prove that the messages were sent not by the account owner, but by someone else, depends on many factors. First of all, it is a timely appeal to law enforcement authorities with a statement about the hacking of the account. Next, technical expertise is important, which should confirm the fact of unauthorized access. However, such a defense is possible only if the account was really hacked, and not sold by the owner. If it turns out that access was given voluntarily, liability will be almost inevitable, emphasizes the Izvestia interlocutor.
Among other things, Yevgenia Lazareva adds, the seller of the account may face accusations of illegal business activities and non-payment of taxes. If a minor falls under suspicion, then serious problems, in addition to those listed above, will also be serious for his parents, up to deprivation of parental rights and sanctions for dishonest fulfillment of adult duties with all the consequences that follow.
On the technical side, experts conclude, it is important to teach a child to set complex passwords and not to click on dubious links. It's best to set up accounts so that your teen can't be written to by strangers - but explain that you shouldn't accept strange offers even from "friends" because their profiles can be hacked.
