Claims from inhabitants of Astana have started arriving at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan. The claimants allege that they have become victims of online fraudsters while “buying” realty.
As the local press reports, it concerns large sums of money. In all of the cases, the scheme was very simple: complainants found rather cheap realty in Europe being sold by vendors in EC countries. The condition of the sale was to transfer a sum of money via Money Gram or Western Union as a guarantee of the ability to pay. The money transfers (by the plaintiffs or their relatives, using a unique code) then took place. The fraudsters asked the complaints to scan the banking document without the unique code and to send it by e-mail. Soon money was being withdrawn from accounts. Only after that did the victims learn that there is no unique code for withdrawals using Money Gram or Western Union in some countries (e.g. Scotland, Portugal, France, etc.).
It was there that the fraud was based. Kazakhstan’s inhabitants have been warned to be attentive and to check the realty in the corresponding state’s institutions.
