In Uzbekistan, 34 local residents were sentenced to prison terms of up to 9.5 years for participating in an organized crime group (OCG) that defrauded Russians of nearly 9.6 million rubles through call centers. reported this in consultation with the press center of the State Security Service (SGB) of the republic. The investigation revealed that the defendants worked at three call centers in Tashkent and Fergana, calling Russian citizens and defrauding them of their money. As a result of the trial, everyone was convicted, 21 defendants received sentences ranging from 3.5 to 9.5 years in prison, 13 others were sentenced to restriction of freedom for a period of up to 4.5 years. Additionally, fines were collected from everyone. From the case documents, the attackers used a database of 70 thousand Russian citizens who purchased medicines and food supplements. They called people on the list, prioritized the elderly, and offered large compensation for supposedly low-quality pills. To receive it, the victim must transfer a “tax” in the amount of 5 to 20 thousand rubles to the scammers. In addition, when the investigation was established, three members of the organized crime group were involved in the illegal circulation of cryptocurrency for a total amount of about 470 thousand USD. In Russia, there is another fraudulent scheme related to drugs: attackers call pensioners and offer to buy popular drugs at prices much lower than pharmacy prices, and after transferring the money, they disappear. In addition, criminals also create fake websites selling diabetes drugs and advertise fake high blood pressure drugs through deepfake videos of famous doctors.
