New bank card fraud to be tried on teenagers

Gone are the days when schoolchildren asked adult “uncles” to buy movie tickets “up to sixteen and older” or some kind of non-statutory drink. Now it’s the other way around. From teenagers who are already 14 and receive a passport, adult scammers turn them into droppers – recipients of fake bank cards. Criminals do not shy away from recruiting schoolchildren to work as couriers to transport money blindly, as well as making them targets of cyber mailings to defraud parents of funds.

But first about droppers, because this is something new. The scheme is simple to the point of simplicity: a teenager issues a bank card in his name and gives it to the customer, along with all the passwords, pins and numbers on the back of the card. For this, “good guys” pay 3 thousand rubles, which is not so little money for a schoolchild.

Thus, the child unwittingly becomes a dropper – an assistant to a fraudster for whom a card has been issued for the purpose of subsequently withdrawing funds. As a rule, the validity of such a card is short-term: if the victim transfers money to it, having previously grabbed loans, the fraudster’s task is to withdraw the funds as quickly as possible or transfer them to another account.

The alarm is sounding in Ural schools, teachers are warning each other and asking them to spread the information among children. Pupils in grades 8-9 who have barely received a passport are especially susceptible to gullibility and at the same time illegibility. Scammers easily pull the wool over their ears. They are convinced that the cards are “purely technical, the bank needs them for statistics.” And, they say, bring another friend to issue cards, or friends, you will receive another 3 thousand rubles for each.

Cybersecurity experts claim that this activity of fraudsters involving children is due to the fact that in 2024, banks tightened the conditions for issuing new cards. And they no longer issue them to people who were caught dropperting, that is, withdrawing and cashing out illegally obtained money. So telephone scammers decided to make droppers out of unsuspecting schoolchildren.

Or they make couriers out of them. In Novouralsk, four teenagers decided to work as couriers from the beginning of the year. But instead of pizza, hot lunches or correspondence, they carried bags of money around the city, which were given by citizens, mostly pensioners, who had been duped by scammers.

It is unclear how unaware the four minors were that they were carrying stolen money. If their guilt is proven, the schoolchildren could be charged with 10 years in prison. Like droppers, however, from the point of view of the law, issuing such a temporary card is complicity and is punishable by the criminal code. A similar case of a teenage courier with money in Nizhny Tagil at the end of 2023 showed that the young accomplice is not always innocent. There, the “mafia runner” knew everything perfectly well and for each foray he received 10% of the amount stolen.

However, more often than not, children become unwitting accomplices of swindlers. Or direct victims. Cybersecurity experts say that today the most fashionable scam scheme against children and teenagers on the Internet is a fake victory in a competition. This is usually accompanied by a personal letter from a blogger the child follows.

Everything is designed very reliably. Allegedly, the idol writes to the teenager that in order to receive the prize, it must be registered using the parents’ phone. And to do this, of course, send the password from the parent’s phone and other personal data. The scam works mainly with children 10-14 years old.

“Now the school has information about digital hygiene,” says programmer Ivan Berezin. – But it’s never a bad idea to remind both children and adults of the following rules. Banks never call themselves and report “break-ins.” Banks never offer to issue a card or loan on the streets, at school, around the corner. The maximum they can send is an advertising offer by mail or in an application, but definitely not through third parties.

Recently, fake calls “from telecom operators” have become more frequent. Everything on the screen looks authentic, like a call from a single number. They offer to make a more favorable tariff, and if the person agrees, they send a four-digit or other number that you need to enter. As soon as you enter it, you open access to your personal information, including accounts in banking applications. Therefore, you need to remember that mobile operators never ask anyone to enter any numbers. If you really change the tariff, they arrange everything themselves.

Never, under any circumstances, open letters with winnings in competitions, lotteries, draws, etc., if you did not participate. And even if yes, still be careful. It is better to double-check the information on the website first. It’s the same with voting – if it’s from an unknown addressee, it’s a definite “no.” And if an acquaintance asks you to vote on social networks, it is better to make sure that the person has not been exposed and that he himself sent you such a request.

And, of course, there are no attachment pictures from anyone, even on major holidays. No online voting is unclear for who or what. Let me remind you that with one click you can give scammers access to your accounts and other personal information. I also remind you about phishing sites, although there are fewer of them now – these are fake online stores where you transfer money, and they disappear. Everyone should understand these safety basics for themselves and tell their children.