"Mom, save me": how scammers intimidate children and extort millions from parents

      More than 130 teenagers from Tatarstan fell victim to fraudsters last year. As law enforcement officials note, scammers are increasingly shifting their focus from pensioners to young people. This is facilitated by the spread of gadgets. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, last year in the republic, every fourth victim was under 30 years old. A total of more than 11,000 criminal episodes were registered. The total damage from fraud exceeded 5 billion rubles. Sometimes children, succumbing to the persuasion of fraudsters, take their parents' phones and transfer all family savings. What tricks remote scammers use and how experts suggest protecting against them will be covered by TNV correspondent Dmitry Arinin. Schoolboy Ayaz Batrashkov has already learned to deal with scammers. The child's Telegram account was hacked, and messages were sent asking for bank card details. "From that day on, I realized that I need to be more active on Telegram because inactive accounts are easier to hack, and I shouldn't click on any links. And if someone calls and talks about money — they are scammers," noted Ayaz Batrashkov. Last year, 131 children from Tatarstan fell into the hands of scammers. In the Tukayev district, a girl was convinced that her parents were involved in a crime. To save them, the child transferred family savings — 350,000 rubles. In a similar scheme in Almetyevsk, a boy transferred more than two million. "Parents need to explain to their children that the Bank of Russia, the prosecutor's office, the police, and other government agencies do not involve children in solving adult problems. Any conversations with threats should be stopped, and everything should be reported to parents," emphasized Eldar Abdullin, head of the legal department of the Central Bank's branch in Tatarstan. As Tatarstan residents say, many have already encountered various tricks of scammers. "They call, saying they are police officers from Moscow; I personally hang up," shared Ruslan Ermolayev. "Now all children have phones; they need to be explained that they can be deceived," believes Abrek Khairullin. "It is essential to set up parental controls on gadgets," expressed Valeria Bulgakova's opinion. Last year, scammers stole more than 5 billion rubles from Tatarstan residents. Every fourth victim is under 30 years old. "If a real law enforcement officer is talking to you, they will set a time and place for investigative actions, while scammers do everything secretly, saying that you shouldn't tell others, and all communication happens remotely — through messengers and phones," informed Radis Yusupov, an operative of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Tatarstan. As noted, the main schemes for deceiving children include intimidation through calls, installing remote control programs on smartphones, as well as fake promotions and offers for help in online games.

      "Children should not have access to their parents' personal data, and they themselves should have parental control — restrictions on transactions, because all children are now playing games where they sell various levels and swords. And the main thing is to talk to children. The scourge of our generation is that parents do not talk to their children or just ask if they did their homework or not, but they need to ask how their day went, etc.," noted psychologist Alfiya Zakirova from the "Rostok" psychological center. To combat fraudsters, the country has already launched a self-ban on loans and a cooling-off period for obtaining money. Banks have also begun to implement the "Family Control" service. It will require confirmation of large transactions from a close person.