Phone scammers have switched to ransoms for children — tell your loved ones about this scheme

The story began with a call to the girl, allegedly from a "Wildberries" employee, claiming her goods were delivered to the wrong pickup point. To send the parcels to the nearest point, she was told to provide her email address and a six-digit code. Gaining access to the girl's data, the fraudsters, posing as law enforcement officers, convinced the 15-year-old girl that she had become a suspect in a money laundering case.

"'They contacted a 'Ministry of Internal Affairs' curator, allegedly. There, the Ministry of Internal Affairs curator also informed me that my parents and I faced 7 or 15 years in prison if all this was true, and that I was truly financing terrorism. Apparently, due to this data leak, a new account was allegedly opened in my name, and money was being laundered there,' the girl recounts."

When she reported having no money, she was offered to participate in a "special operation" to "save her family".

Following the fraudsters' instructions, the teenager left the city, switched off her mobile phone, and removed the SIM card. The schoolgirl was assured that her phone was being tapped and these were necessary precautions.

While the girl was out of contact, the scammers began to attack her mother.

"'He called, said that your child is with us. They sent her photo on Telegram. It was just her! In her sweater and jeans. He wrote: 'Hello, Katya, recognize her? The longer you and Syarozha think, the further and further your daughter will be from Minsk,' the mother recounted."

The woman was sent photos of her daughter in a car's interior, and threatened that she would be taken out of the country if the mother did not transfer money to a crypto wallet:

"'Threats followed that we are now taking her out of Minsk, and you must transfer — I was given an hour — cryptocurrency to some crypto wallet in the shortest possible time.'"

The unknown person asked how much the applicant valued her child's life. They sent her photos of the girl and the rooms of their apartment.

The woman contacted the police. Officers of the Frunzensky District Department of Internal Affairs found the girl in the village of Valyaryanaŭka.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs urges parents to explain to their children that any demands to provide SMS codes or participate in "secret checks" are signs of a crime.

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