The internationally wanted organizers of a cyberfraud network that deceived Azerbaijani citizens by impersonating law enforcement officers and stealing their money have been detained and brought to Azerbaijan, APA reports, citing a statement by the Press Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).
According to the statement, the annual damage caused by cybercrime to the global economy has increased by 75 percent over the past five years, rising from $6 trillion to $10.5 trillion. The threats posed by cybercrime, which is widespread on a global scale, undoubtedly affect Azerbaijan as well. The transnational nature of cybercrime, the management of criminal networks from different countries, and the use of modern technological capabilities in illegal financial transactions further increase the importance of combating such activities. Preventing such crimes requires not only detecting individual violations but also identifying their organizers, foreign connections, and financial mechanisms.
In this regard, another joint operation conducted by the Main Department for Combating Cybercrime (MDC) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ukrainian police on Ukrainian territory has revealed that cyberfraud is organized on an international scale and that Azerbaijani citizens have become targets of organized networks operating from abroad.
As a result of the operation, the activities of an organized cyberfraud network operating from Ukraine with the aim of stealing money from Azerbaijani citizens were uncovered. Investigations established that the network's activities were organized through call centers established under the guise of various service offices in several Ukrainian cities. To recruit new members into the criminal network, job advertisements promising high salaries in information technology and customer service were posted on the Telegram platform. As a result, some citizens were recruited to these centers operating illegally in Ukraine. At the call centers, network members called Azerbaijani citizens using specially prepared scripts and various psychological manipulation techniques. Posing as employees of law enforcement agencies, mobile operators, banks, and investment companies, they provided citizens with false information claiming that suspicious transactions had been carried out on their accounts, their money was at risk, their bank cards would be blocked, or illegal financial transactions were being conducted in their names. In other cases, fraudulent investment offers promising high returns were used to lure citizens into becoming victims of cyberfraud.
Taking advantage of the fear and panic they created, or people's desire to earn easy money, network members pressured citizens into making hasty decisions, transferring their funds to supposedly secure accounts, and disclosing their bank card details, SMS verification codes, and other confidential passwords.
As part of operations conducted in cooperation with Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs, 11 people working at illegal call centers operating in Kyiv, including Nariman Isgandarov, Elsun Aliyev, Elshad Musayev, and Elshan Shukurov, who had been placed on the international wanted list as the main organizers of the network, were detained and brought to Azerbaijan. It was established that Ruslan Zakirov, Yasaf Bayramov, Elsevar Mammadov, Dmitri Dushin, and Ruslan Matveyev maintained contact with network members abroad via Telegram and participated in laundering funds obtained through cyberfraud. They collected the stolen money in bank card accounts under their control and, after deducting an agreed percentage, converted the remaining funds into cryptocurrency and transferred them abroad.
A criminal case has been initiated under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code in connection with the facts. By court decision, pre-trial detention has been ordered for the leaders of the criminal group. Investigations are underway regarding the other detained individuals.
"We once again emphasize that, alongside coordinated activities by law enforcement agencies and international cooperation, citizens' vigilance is also of great importance in combating cybercrime. Therefore, we urge citizens to exercise caution regarding suspicious job offers on social media promising high salaries and easy earnings, refrain from sharing bank card details, SMS verification codes, and other confidential passwords with unknown individuals, verify information provided during suspicious phone calls through official sources, and immediately contact the police in cases of cyberfraud," the MIA stated.
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The Main Department for Combating Cybercrime of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs has conducted a large-scale joint operation with Ukrainian police, APA reports.
The organizers of a cyberfraud network, who were internationally wanted for deceiving Azerbaijani citizens by impersonating law enforcement officers and stealing their money, have been detained and brought to Azerbaijan.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs is expected to release detailed information about the operation in the coming hours.
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