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- Cash experience: fraudsters began to deceive Russians on vacation under the guise of exchangers
Cash experience: fraudsters began to deceive Russians on vacation under the guise of exchangers
Fraudsters began to deceive Russians on vacation by offering currency exchange at a favorable rate. They find victims in chat rooms in different countries, introduce themselves as employees of exchange offices, and then extort large sums. Izvestia found out which travel schemes scammers use and how to protect themselves from them.
Deception of tourists
Fraudsters began to deceive Russian tourists on vacation by offering foreign currency in exchange for transfers from Russian cards that do not work abroad. This is reported by the Telegram channel Shot.
According to the channel, dozens of Russians who have flown to Turkey, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka have already suffered from such a scheme. The criminals found them in various travel chat rooms in instant messengers and presented themselves as exchangers. They offered tourists a favorable exchange rate and courier delivery of money, and after the transfer to their account, they disappeared.
In Turkey, more than 30 Russians transferred money to fraudsters — each from 100 to 500 thousand rubles. Judging by the screenshots of the victims' correspondence with the criminals, the latter communicated in Russian, introduced themselves as experts of travel services with a "good reputation" and promised to bring the money by courier within 15-20 minutes.
As noted, at first the scammers posted posts about the services in large chat rooms, but then they began to be blocked. Then they began to write to tourists directly, finding them in the same chat rooms.
Major channels dedicated to holidays in Turkey say that scammers can clone admin pages and offer currency exchange services. The channel management urged users to be careful and not transfer money to anyone.
Victims in chat rooms
As lawyer Sean Betrozov explains to Izvestia, fraudulent schemes aimed at tourists are based on their lack of reliable ability to pay abroad. When, due to sanctions, payment with Russian bank cards became difficult or even impossible, travelers had an urgent need to find a way to cash out rubles in dollars, euros or other local currency. This is used by attackers posing as representatives of "exchange offices" or private money changers, who allegedly have all the necessary resources for secure transactions.
"When scammers receive money, they block the victim in all communication channels, and the search is complicated by the fact that the crime itself can be classified as cross—border fraud and it can be extremely problematic to identify those involved in another jurisdiction," says the expert.
In the classic version of the scheme, fraudsters present themselves as managers of new exchange offices or intermediaries who have unique ways to withdraw funds from Russian cards, and describe the procedure as if they have a solution prepared in advance for anyone who requests. Sometimes they may mention that they work with "partner" companies that are supposedly licensed by the local regulator, although no actual evidence exists.
— Attackers often put pressure on victims by mentioning a limited supply of foreign currency or upcoming exchange rate changes in order to speed up decision-making and prevent information from being verified. In the end, the deception boils down to one thing: a person transfers money, hoping to receive cash in return," says the Izvestia interlocutor.
According to Mikhail Spitsyn, a cyber expert and analytical engineer at the Gazinformservice Strategic Development Laboratory, criminals usually find victims in large instant messengers where there are chat rooms or channels for those who travel around a particular country or city. The attackers are offering "help" to people who have just asked a question about an exchange, transfer, or payment using a Russian card.
— Administrators block such "money changers", but scammers create new accounts and continue to deceive people. Unfortunately, this will continue in the future and will be overgrown with new combinations around tourists. You should be especially careful during the holidays, the summer period and on the eve of long holidays," he advises.
Other schemes
The first massive schemes to deceive tourists appeared back in the 1990s, Kamila Velibekova, founder of Premier Tourism, an agency for premium travel and events, tells Izvestia. For example, they "rented out" villas or offered travelers to use them for many years, paying only for flights. But after receiving the money, the criminals immediately disappeared.
— Today, in Asian countries, for example, the use of skimmers is widespread. These are devices that fraudsters attach to ATMs, imperceptibly read bank card data and PIN codes," says the expert. — In addition, the so—called Lebanese loop can be used - a device that intruders insert into the ATM card reader, blocking the return of the card. The tourist cannot pick up the card, and criminals later extract it and use it for their own purposes.
Pickpocketing and even robberies are common in most countries, and this is a problem in major tourist cities. Criminals track down travelers who walk late or return from restaurants, and those who leave bags and valuables unattended.
— In European countries, a different scheme is often used: passers-by are given flowers or souvenirs under the pretext of a holiday. After receiving a "gift", tourists hear that they have to pay, Kamila Velibekova continues. — In Bali, intruders use animals. For example, the Uluwatu temple is home to trained monkeys who snatch valuables from tourists, and local "helpers" offer to "persuade" the monkey to return the stolen goods for a reward.
In Southeast Asian countries, she said, tourists are often sold tickets for excursions at an inflated price and even fakes, shown free attractions for money, deliberately turn off taxi meters and choose the longest route to inflate the cost of the trip.
Methods of protection
In order to protect yourself from fraudsters on vacation, experts advise buying foreign currency from banks before the trip, where there are no restrictions on the amount of cash purchases. It is important to remember that when exporting cash from Russia without a declaration, the amount should not exceed the equivalent of $10,000 per person, Kamilla Velibekova reminds. It is also worth clarifying in advance what limits apply to the import and export of cash in the destination country.
— You can exchange currency immediately upon arrival at the airport, but the exchange rate and fees may be too high. The best option for exchange is official points (away from tourist spots) and local banks. They offer the most honest courses and the lowest fees. The disadvantages of this method are limited opening hours and possible holiday breaks. Therefore, it is preferable to immediately have a reserve of cash in the right currency," she says.
In turn, Tatiana Zhdanova, head of the premium department at Onlinetours, recommends taking into account the specifics of the country where the person is going. For example, in Thailand, cash is always needed, not every street cafe and souvenir shops and fruit stalls have terminals for cashless payment.
— Exchanges through private individuals are common in this country. In this case, it is better to schedule an in-person meeting where you will receive the local currency, and you will make a transfer to any Bank of the Russian Federation card in their presence. It is important to understand that people who engage in honest exchange are not looking for tourists themselves and do not write to them," says the head of the premium department at Onlinetours.
In Turkey, she adds, currency exchange can be done through the guides of the host companies. At the same time, tourists will not waste their leisure time searching for an exchanger.
Finally, it is important to know which cards work in the destination country. In some cases, you can use the MIR card, the Chinese Union Pay payment system, and money transfers. But travelers often apply for bank cards from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and other CIS countries — you can top them up with a card from any Russian bank.
— Withdraw cash only from reliable ATMs in banks and large shopping malls — they are less likely to be hacked and fraudulent readers installed. First, you should carefully inspect the ATM. If the card reader or anything else seems strange, it's not worth the risk," concludes Kamilla Velibekova.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
