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- The horse will be stopped: scammers deceive Russians under the pretext of driving cars
The horse will be stopped: scammers deceive Russians under the pretext of driving cars
Fraudsters began to deceive Russians by offering a profitable car purchase abroad. They pose as car racers and write to victims in chat rooms for motorists — in fact, they extort prepayment from people and disappear. Izvestia found out how not to become a victim of such schemes and how to safely buy cars from intermediaries.
Under the pretext of transportation
Fraudsters began to deceive Russians under the pretext of transporting cars from abroad. This was told in the Department for the Organization of the fight against the Illegal use of information and Communication Technologies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
Criminals create accounts in messengers offering services for driving and buying cars from abroad. The authors promise favorable conditions and fast delivery, but payment must be in cryptocurrency.
"The victim is offered to install an application for a crypto wallet, and then they are asked to transfer a large amount "to confirm solvency" or an introductory payment," the Bulletin of the Russian Cyber Police Telegram channel noted.
The Interior Ministry advised to be careful with such purchases. They urged not to trust offers from strangers with suspiciously favorable prices and to avoid paying in cryptocurrency. The agency also advised not to follow the links sent by unknown persons, as well as not to tell outsiders the codes from SMS and bank card data.
Anatomy of the circuit
The scheme of "overtaking" cars and paying in cryptocurrency has spread widely on the Web. Such stories have already been received on the Moshelovka platform, its curator Alla Khrapunova told Izvestia.
The victims of deception were people who knew little about cryptocurrencies and did not know how to use crypto wallets. Therefore, the scammers themselves undertook their "training": they explained how to install a wallet and could even transfer a small amount to the account of the "buyer". It was left to reduce a person's alertness.
— When the supervisor received the necessary level of trust, the so-called manager told the victim that he needed to follow a special link to a supposedly special platform made for secure payments. And when a person agreed, the scammers quietly gained access to his crypto wallet," Khrapunova explained.
At the next stage of the deception, the victim was offered to transfer an advance payment for the car to a crypto wallet in order to confirm his solvency. The person transferred the money, being sure that the debit would occur only after the car was delivered to him, but the amount disappeared immediately. As a result, he was left without a car and without money.
Alexander Samsonov, a leading expert at the Security Code development and testing department, noted that fraudsters can search for victims in special chat rooms for motorists. They create fake profiles that mimic car racers or sellers, and fill them with stolen or stock photos.
— Then they place unrealistic offers for the sale or transportation of cars at extremely attractive, low prices. And after the victim's appeal and receipt of funds, they instantly stop communicating and disappear," concluded the Izvestia interlocutor.
Trick options
According to lawyer Sean Betrozov, fraud schemes involving the "hijacking" of cars have been developing over the past two years. They appeared against the background of a shortage of foreign cars and a growing interest in parallel imports. When official deliveries of cars from a number of countries stopped, the demand for private intermediaries promising to deliver cars on an individual order increased. This is what the scammers began to use, inventing new legends.
— The most common scheme is when a person is asked for an advance payment and disappears. But there are also more sophisticated ones: for example, scammers sell the same car to several people or issue fictitious documents for customs clearance," says the lawyer. — There are cases when a car is leased abroad, but after registration with a client, the company stopped paying lease payments. As a result, the vehicle is put on the wanted list, and the buyer loses both the money and the car.
At the same time, he adds, there is not only a financial but also a legal risk for buyers: if a car is imported using questionable schemes, for example through temporary importation or a power of attorney, then formally it may belong to a foreigner and the car will be seized at the first check.
According to the lawyer, most of these schemes are related to cars allegedly imported from Armenia, Kazakhstan, Georgia and the UAE. These directions became popular after the introduction of parallel imports, when part of the transactions began to be conducted through neighboring countries, where cars are cheaper or easier to arrange. Scammers use this circumstance and claim to have partners abroad who are ready to quickly deliver the right car. In reality, neither partners nor cars exist.
— Fake offers from Japan and Korea are also common, especially through auction sites. The buyer is shown real photos from the auction, but the lots have been sold for a long time, and funds are being transferred to third-party accounts. Recently, scammers acting under the guise of "distillers from the UAE" have also become more active: they promise to bring a premium car at no extra charge, citing "special connections with dealers." In fact, they use this as an excuse to receive large advances," the lawyer concludes.
According to him, the geography of the schemes is constantly changing, but the principle remains the same — the use of foreign sites and the absence of personal contact with the car.
How to identify scammers
There are several clear markers that are highly likely to indicate deception. Alexander Samsonov, an expert at the Security Code, called the requirement to pay exclusively in cryptocurrencies such as USDT (Tether) or Bitcoin the main "red flag", since such transactions are irreversible and anonymous.
The second characteristic feature, according to him, is the creation of artificial excitement and constant pressure on the victim to hurry up under the pretext of an imminent increase in prices for a car (or any other product on the Web) or the appearance of other buyers.
"The third signal is the request to make an advance payment under a plausible but far—fetched pretext that is not found in honest transactions," the expert continued. "And finally, the fourth is to work only in messenger without providing official details, the company's website or the opportunity for a full—fledged call. At the same time, links are sent to the person for "paperwork" or "payment confirmation", which lead to phishing sites.
In turn, lawyer Sean Betrozov recommended working only with trusted companies that are officially engaged in foreign economic activity and can provide legal guarantees. Payment must be made through an official bank account, preferably under an agreement and with the possibility of a refund in case of violation of the terms.
— Before concluding an agreement, it is worth checking the registration of the intermediary through the official register of legal entities.
You can request copies of documents confirming the right to transport and arrange cars. Be sure to read the contract: it should specify the terms, the amount, the responsibility of the parties and the terms of the refund, — said the lawyer.
According to him, it is safest to make a step-by-step payment: part of the amount before starting work, the rest after customs clearance or receiving a car.
Methods of protection
When buying a car through an intermediary (making sure that this is not a fraudster, but a real operating company), it is important to clarify in advance who exactly is responsible for transporting the car, in whose name the insurance is issued and what risks it covers.
— When driving from abroad, a car is not considered a means of transportation, but a cargo that needs to be delivered from one country to another. Therefore, it is not the car itself that is insured, but the process of its transportation — this type of insurance is called cargo insurance," explained lawyer Sean Betrozov.
The policy is issued before the car is shipped and protects the buyer from possible losses if something unexpected happens on the way, such as damage to a container, an accident with a car carrier, a fire in a warehouse, a cargo drop during overloading or a ship delay. Usually, the document is issued by the delivery company, but the buyer has the right to request a copy of the policy and check who the beneficiary is listed in it.
— This is a crucial point: if the insurance indicates the name of the intermediary, then he will receive compensation in the event of an accident, not the client. Therefore, it is necessary to specify in the contract of carriage or sale that the beneficiary of the insurance is the customer, the future owner of the car," the lawyer noted.
According to him, some intermediaries try to save money and do not take out insurance at all, assuring the client that "nothing will happen." This cannot be done, because the delivery of a car is a complicated process: it passes through several countries, different warehouses, loading and customs offices. Delays, damages, and errors are possible at each stage. Without an insurance policy, all losses are borne by the client.
— Therefore, before paying, you need to directly ask the carrier three questions: is the car insured, who is the beneficiary and which insurance company issued the policy, — recommended Betrozov.
If a person is just planning a purchase, it is important to avoid making decisions under psychological pressure. The company should be verified, and settlements should be carried out only through secure payment channels controlled by financial regulators, concluded Alexander Samsonov, an expert at the Security Code.
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