OREANDA-NEWS. September 20, 2012. The Department for Economic Security and Anti-Corruption Enforcement of the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow, in conjunction with the Main Investigations Department of the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow and with the assistance of employees from the Security Department of Sberbank's Moscow Bank, conducted a large-scale operation to stop the activities of a group of fraudsters and detain the organizers and participants of the criminal gang, reported the press-centre of Sberbank.

Mostly, these criminals were targeting seniors: pensioners, disabled persons and veterans of World War II. The scammers would call them on the phone and, representing themselves as employees of various government bodies, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Tax Service, the Central Bank, the Accounts Chamber, etc, would offer compensation for previously acquired dietary supplements. Then they would ask the seniors to pay for the costs of the paperwork supposedly required for compensation.

After the first money transfer to the accounts of individuals under their control, the malefactors would call again and, under various pretexts, demand additional payments. For example, they spoke of the possibility of providing a larger amount of compensation, claimed the funds had been transferred incorrectly, etc. Subsequently, the criminals would receive the cash from ATMs.

According to preliminary data, the activities of the scammers affected more than 150 people. In each case, the loss ranged from 100,000 to 1.5 million rubles. The victims include not only residents of Moscow and the Moscow region, but also people from other regions of Russia.

The detained individuals face criminal charges under article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code (fraud).

Sberbank constantly warns its customers of possible fraud and calls for their vigilance using all available means of communication. In particular, Sberbank's website has a special section on fraud, security measures, etc. On September 11, we presented a video series about Sberbank, including episodes on skimming, phishing, telephone fraud, computer security and fighting crime.