Lawyer warns of scam promising discounted phone top-ups

Recently, advertisements offering cell phone top-ups with impressive discounts have been appearing more and more frequently on the Internet and social networks. Such offers may look like an attractive opportunity to save money, but their legal nature raises serious questions, lawyer David Adams, general director of the AID Professional Legal Group, told Izvestia.

"First of all, it should be taken into account that official mobile operators do not provide intermediaries with the opportunity to top up customers' accounts with discounts. All financial transactions go through strictly regulated systems, and any third-party offers for a significant reduction in the cost of services indicate possible fraudulent schemes," he clarified.

According to him, from the point of view of legislation, such offers may qualify as unauthorized use of payment instruments or even as fraud under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Variants of illegal schemes may include the use of stolen bank cards, unauthorized access to subscribers' accounts or manipulation of operators' bonus programs. In each of these cases, the end consumer risks not only losing money but also being involved in illegal financial transactions, the lawyer emphasized.

"There is also a possibility that attackers collect personal data of customers. To carry out a 'transaction', the buyer may be asked to provide a phone number, bank card details or even confirm the operation by a code from an SMS. Such actions can lead to unauthorized debiting, account theft or linking the phone number to someone else's payment account," Adams added.

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In addition, he clarified that if payment is made directly to the merchant's bank card, the customer is in a legally vulnerable position. In case of default - for example, if the money has not arrived on the balance - the buyer has no legal levers to return the funds. Banks and payment systems, as a rule, do not consider such transfers as transactions subject to protection by chargeback mechanisms, as the transaction was made voluntarily.

The expert noted that legislation in the field of electronic payments and consumer protection is aimed at ensuring the safety of transactions and minimizing risks for users.

"In this regard, it is recommended to use only official top-up methods provided by mobile operators and avoid transactions involving third-party intermediaries. In case of detection of dubious offers it is advisable to contact law enforcement agencies or telecom operators to prevent possible financial losses and not to become a participant in illegal schemes," - concluded Adams.

Earlier, on January 29, it was reported that spammers in 2024 most often engaged in phishing - a type of Internet fraud, the purpose of which is to gain access to confidential user data - logins and passwords. This follows from data from the Yandex 360 platform. Phishing is often a mass mailing of emails on behalf of popular brands, as well as personal messages within various services, for example, on behalf of banks or in social networks.