A website has appeared on the Internet offering “127-FZ (on bankruptcy) legal clearing of debts on a turnkey basis with preservation of property”. The source is provided by popular search engines. The site uses the symbols of the State Service portal and the state system “Electronic Justice”.
The resource lists a number of services available to Russians: debt relief and repayments; formal and transparent contract; free consultation. The authors of the site claim 98% of the cases won.
Users are asked to fill out a questionnaire and leave their phone number. The questions in the survey indicate the amount, type (loan, micro-credit, housing and utilities, alimony) of the client’s debt, the level of delay, whether there is a mortgage, the city of residence.
“There is no debt clearing service in the Government Service. The portal has a section where you can get information about the bankruptcy procedure for individuals. This service is provided upon application through the MFC or the Arbitration Court, the Ministry of Digital Development told socialbites.ca.
The Central Bank and Arbitration Court of the city of Moscow did not respond to the request.
“socialbites.ca” left a request on the site. He immediately received an SMS from the source: “Your application has been accepted. We will call you as soon as possible at 88005005423. Best regards, UC Zenit”.
He says on the Zenit law firm’s website that he has been working in Russia since 2016. The company’s contact information does indeed contain this phone number. After a call back, an expert from Zenit told socialbites.ca that the company was operating on a debt of 200 thousand rubles. He estimated the cost of services at 60 thousand rubles. At the same time, WhatsApp socialbites.ca called a different bar – 250 thousand rubles. socialbites.ca found six negative comments about the number indicated on the Internet. Users write that the number is fake. “They call the phone and breathe”, “Answering machine plays music” – users write about the number on the Internet.
How do scammers work?
These are anti-collectors, also known as “borrowers”. They offer services in solving problems related to overdue debts: taking over negotiations with credit institutions, buying citizens’ debts from the bank, helping a person go bankrupt,” said Jamali Kuliyev, lawyer of Yukov and Partners.
In his opinion, scammers promise to pay a minimum part of the debt (through them, of course) and write off the rest. The victim pays the money, enjoys life, and then receives another notification that the debt must be paid. Moreover, the amount increased as no one canceled interest and penalties. Or, scammers ask the victim to write a statement that the victim shifts communication with both creditors and collectors to them. Communication is not free – the victim again has to pay the scammers.
“After that, creditors and collectors no longer bother the debtor, they try to contact the scammers, and the latter simply ignore them. Unable to reach the debtor or his representative later on, creditors and collectors file a lawsuit that is unlikely to be on the debtor’s side.
The third way to deceive, according to the lawyer, is an attempt to deceive the victim by saying that the scammers are ready to clear 10, 20% or 30% of the debt.
“Also, this money should be paid to the crooks as soon as possible so that they can supposedly start work as soon as possible. After all, it turned out that the victim paid the money, and the “borrower” was sunk into oblivion – he is no longer contacted, ”added Kuliyev.
What do scammers want?
Cybersecurity experts analyzed the source and concluded that it is in the “grey” area.
“There are many semi-legal schemes that promise to get rid of debts to citizens under the guise of aid. The “gray” ones where they promise to wipe out debts and return a crystal clear credit history or sign a contract with you, but then simply withdraw money, time and services may not be realized, ”Yakov, head of the Digital Risk Research Department at Group-IB Kravtsov.
According to him, all these recommendations are often based on fictitious laws or “links” to mythical state bodies.
“The purpose of such sites is to collect information about people in a difficult life situation and, based on this, create a reasonable case of phishing. The site uses the color scheme and symbols of the Government Services portal, but it has nothing to do with it. If you leave your information on the site, after a while a lawyer who will call you, who supposedly helps you with your case, and now has time to “take a look” with you, followed by a scenario like this: “Transfer a small amount of money and we’ll start working on clearing your debts right away, we have a lot of experience.” After making the payment, with a high probability, you will no longer hear from this lawyer, ”explained Sergey Polunin, head of the infrastructure IT protection group of Gazinformservice.
Pavel Korostelev, head of the product promotion department of Code of Security, stated that scammers need personal information in order to further attack relatives, for example, those who left their data on the site. Attackers can call them, gain trust and force some additional action – for example, provide card details and withdraw money from them, he added.