Fraudsters behind fake clothing store on Instagram face criminal charges

A fraud scheme organized under the guise of an “online clothing store” was exposed as part of the “Safe Cyberspace” operational prevention campaign in the Tashkent region. This was reported by the Main Department of Internal Affairs of the region.

It was revealed that four individuals created fake pages on Instagram and Telegram posing as sellers of men’s clothing in order to make easy money. They offered products at low prices, asked buyers to transfer money in advance, and then redirected the funds to bank cards registered to other people, using the money for their personal needs.

For example, on June 11 this year, a resident of the Tashkent district contacted them via Instagram and transferred 1 million soums to the card number provided to purchase advertised clothing. However, once the money was transferred, all correspondence was deleted and communication was cut off.

During the initial investigation, it was established that over the past month, the group fraudulently obtained more than 101 million soums from 279 bank cards belonging to citizens.

A criminal case has been initiated against the individuals under Part 3 of Article 168 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (fraud). The investigation is ongoing.

“In this regard, the Tashkent Regional Department of Internal Affairs once again calls on citizens to be careful. Do not rush into online purchases, do not transfer money in advance. Do not be deceived by cheap advertisements, use only trusted platforms. In suspicious cases, immediately report to the internal affairs bodies. Be vigilant,” the statement said.

It is worth noting that earlier in Tashkent, individuals were caught stealing nearly 3 billion soums from the bank cards of 133 people using APK extension viruses created for Android devices.