The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan warned that fraudsters continue to use social engineering to obtain remote loans or steal funds by gaining access to consumers’ mobile devices and banking services. Common schemes involve impersonating bank, government, law enforcement or telecommunications staff and persuading victims to take out supposed technical, counter or protective loans before transferring the proceeds to accounts controlled by fraudsters. Other schemes promise preferential or specially approved credit, including under government programs, in exchange for installing applications, completing biometric identification or providing access to banking or microfinance applications. The agency stressed that legitimate institutions do not ask consumers to take out loans to prevent fraud, share verification codes or screens, install remote access applications, or transfer money to safe or reserve accounts. Consumers should use strong passwords and two factor authentication, monitor their credit history and financial institution notifications, consider the Stop Credit service, and contact their bank or microfinance organization through official channels if suspicious activity occurs. Those whose names have already been used to obtain fraudulent credit should consult the agency’s guidance on the steps to take.

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