A teenager has been detained in Nefteyugansk for setting fires on behalf of fraudsters.

A ninth-grader suspected of committing a series of arson attacks under the influence of telephone fraud has been detained in Nefteyugansk. This was announced on June 3 by the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Irina Volk.

"Employees of the criminal investigation department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the city of Nefteyugansk, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug — Yugra, detained a 16-year—old local resident who is suspected of committing arson attacks on cars," she said.

The suspect said that it all started with a call from an unknown woman who introduced herself as the head of his school. She asked for a photo of her passport, after which the boy received a call from an alleged law enforcement officer demanding that funds be transferred to a "secure account."

After transferring 200 thousand rubles, the boy was informed that the money had gone to finance a banned organization, and in order to avoid arrest allegedly threatening family members of the student, he needed to find and set fire to cars with patriotic symbols. The scammers assured the teenager that in this way his family would remain free.

"The guy bought a flammable liquid in one of the city's shops, poured it over vehicles and set it on fire with a lighter. Concerned citizens managed to extinguish two cars before the arrival of firefighters. No one was injured," Wolf added.

According to Volk, a criminal case was opened into the incident under Part 2 of Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Intentional destruction or damage to property"), which provides for imprisonment for up to five years. A preventive measure was chosen for the person involved in the form of a subscription not to leave and proper behavior. At the moment, the investigation is ongoing.

Getting to know hackers: Cybervoys scare children by "boarding their parents"

The deception scheme includes a fake beauty, an "Armed Forces militant" and an "FSB curator"

On May 30, the Center for Public Relations (SOC) reported the detention of six young people in three regions of the Russian Federation by employees of the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB). All of them, on the instructions of the special services of Ukraine, committed arson attacks on transport infrastructure facilities and decorations for the celebration of Victory Day.