The Ministry of Internal Affairs reminded about the risks of searching for relatives through questionable channels and chats

It can be very dangerous to search for missing relatives through dubious Internet resources, messengers, and pseudo-real estate companies that are only available on Telegram. This was announced on December 29 by the Department for the Organization of the fight against the illegal use of information and communication technologies (UBK) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

"We have already warned about the risks of searching for relatives with whom contact has been lost through questionable channels, chat rooms and law firms that exist only on Telegram. The story shared by colleagues from Minsk clearly shows that this can end badly, even if a relative disappeared 20 years ago," the department's Telegram channel says.

It is specified that in 2020, a 62-year-old resident of Minsk began an e-mail correspondence with an unknown person. During the conversation, he received information about her cousin, with whom the woman had not been in touch for more than 20 years. Later, she was sent a message, issued as an official notification, stating that a relative had allegedly died in an accident, and she was the sole heiress of property worth $ 100 thousand.

Then the woman was contacted by persons posing as lawyers. Under the pretext of registering the inheritance, they corresponded for five years, convincing the pensioner to pay various "mandatory" expenses — state duties, legal services and related fees. All this time, the woman was transferring money, considering what was happening to be a protracted but legitimate procedure.

It was only after another request for a transfer of funds that she realized she was the victim of a classic fraudulent scheme known as "Nigerian letters."

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On December 25, the UBK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that attackers, disguised as investment companies, were calling the victim and offering a "secure solution" under the pretext of internal verification. It was noted that the purpose of the first call was to create a stressful situation and prepare the victim for a call from an alleged law enforcement official, after which the conversation was transferred to a closed format: they were asked to go to a place where "no one hears."

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