cabar.asia
Tajikistan: The number of scammers on the Internet using sick and vulnerable people is growing
In Tajikistan, helping the ill and needy has become one of the methods of fraudulent schemes for those who like to get wealthy on the Internet. To avoid falling into the "paws" of scammers, experts urge to increase the digital literacy of internet users.
photo: 123ru.net
photo: 123ru.net
Raihona Rakhimova has been involved in charity for two years now. During the COVID-19 outbreak, she founded the group "Together We Will Win" and continues to help the needy and ill. She says she is approached by many people who are sick and in need, and together with volunteers, they are helping to collect money and other necessary aid.
But among them are those who turn with "impure" thoughts, she says.
"There were women who, taking advantage of their children's illness, tried to make some money. Or there was a woman who forced her old mother to beg. One student was posting pictures of strangers with disabilities on the Internet and collecting money from people that way. After such cases, we thoroughly check the reliability of the information on all parameters before helping people," Rakhimova said.
These kinds of cases have been very common recently. With the help of benefactors, they helped a little girl diagnosed with hydrocephalus raise 5,000 TJS (about US $384). They used the money to buy her an appliance and also left some money for her medical treatment.
"I got a call from the hospital saying that her mother is not paying attention to her and is not treating her. She is distributing videos of her child on social networks and asking for help. Many people help her financially, but the woman is not taking good care of her child. When I asked the girl's mother why she hasn't started treatment, doesn't feed the child, doesn't use the equipment we bought to treat the child? She fell to my feet and told me that she would fix everything and start treatment," Rakhimova said.
Treatment for such patients is free and paid for by the state, but Rakhimova said her mother falsely collected large sums of money from the public under the guise of medical treatment and intended to buy herself a house.
But among them are those who turn with "impure" thoughts, she says.
"There were women who, taking advantage of their children's illness, tried to make some money. Or there was a woman who forced her old mother to beg. One student was posting pictures of strangers with disabilities on the Internet and collecting money from people that way. After such cases, we thoroughly check the reliability of the information on all parameters before helping people," Rakhimova said.
These kinds of cases have been very common recently. With the help of benefactors, they helped a little girl diagnosed with hydrocephalus raise 5,000 TJS (about US $384). They used the money to buy her an appliance and also left some money for her medical treatment.
"I got a call from the hospital saying that her mother is not paying attention to her and is not treating her. She is distributing videos of her child on social networks and asking for help. Many people help her financially, but the woman is not taking good care of her child. When I asked the girl's mother why she hasn't started treatment, doesn't feed the child, doesn't use the equipment we bought to treat the child? She fell to my feet and told me that she would fix everything and start treatment," Rakhimova said.
Treatment for such patients is free and paid for by the state, but Rakhimova said her mother falsely collected large sums of money from the public under the guise of medical treatment and intended to buy herself a house.
photo: pexabay.com
Another of CABAR.asia's interlocutors, Khosiyat Yorova, has been running her own YouTube channel for a while now. She has more than 40,000 subscribers and is often asked for help. According to her, acquaintances or other bloggers send her various videos asking for help to distribute through her channel.
"Once a blogger asked me to post a video on my page about a family in need. In the video, the woman tells the story of her difficult life and asks for help from kind people. The blogger who posted the video said that about 17,000 somonis (about $1,310) had already been collected for them. He asked me to go and give the money collected to these people, make a video and show them so that the philanthropists would know that the money they sent had reached the people in need. First, we went to the market and were accompanied by that woman's sister. We bought all the groceries and went to their house," Yorova said.
"Once a blogger asked me to post a video on my page about a family in need. In the video, the woman tells the story of her difficult life and asks for help from kind people. The blogger who posted the video said that about 17,000 somonis (about $1,310) had already been collected for them. He asked me to go and give the money collected to these people, make a video and show them so that the philanthropists would know that the money they sent had reached the people in need. First, we went to the market and were accompanied by that woman's sister. We bought all the groceries and went to their house," Yorova said.
However, when they arrived at the family home, it turned out that the head of the family, whom the woman's sister had previously said was disabled and not working, was at work.
"When her husband came in, we saw that he was a man of size and he didn't look like an invalid. Because of our suspicions, we were told that the man had severe kidney pain. When we handed over the money, he started counting it quickly and put it in his pocket. The female blogger who approached me said that the migrants had collected the money and were going to buy them a three-room house in the city of Kulob. But they protested and said they wanted a house in Dushanbe, not Kulob," Yorova said.
According to her, it later turned out that they were not a needy family and were only using their children in the video to cash in on the generosity of benefactors.
Fundraising under the guise of charity has become very popular on social media lately. According to bloggers and philanthropists, when a new video of the sick and needy appears on the Internet, after a while unknown people quickly distribute them on various pages with their bank details. Many people believe these scammers and transfer a lot of money to these accounts. There have also been cases where bloggers have abused the illiteracy of the needy and collected large sums of money in their own favor.
According to some posts on social networks, it is evident that in Tajikistan, scammers use the help of the sick, purchase household goods for the needy, and transport the bodies of Tajik migrants for their own enrichment.
According to some posts on social networks, it is evident that in Tajikistan, scammers use the help of the sick, purchase household goods for the needy, and transport the bodies of Tajik migrants for their own enrichment.
photo: medrab.ru
Nusratullo Makhmadzoda, the spokesman for Tajikistan's Interior Ministry, told CABAR.asia that facts of direct use by individuals or some group of people in distress have not been officially registered.
"There have been no appeals from people on whose behalf other people fraudulently collect money. However, we often see in social networks that money is collected fraudulently using the plight of others, illness or death in migration," said Mahmadzoda.
Law enforcement agencies do a lot of outreach to prevent such cases.
"Last year, after the Tajik-Kyrgyz border conflict, a special account was opened for the victims. Authorities repeatedly warned people not to transfer money to obscure accounts they see on the streets and in social networks, not to trust everyone, because in this case, random people can take advantage of the situation and get 'free' money," Makhmadzoda said.
Experts say one should use logic in these cases and study the issue carefully.
"Last year, after the Tajik-Kyrgyz border conflict, a special account was opened for the victims. Authorities repeatedly warned people not to transfer money to obscure accounts they see on the streets and in social networks, not to trust everyone, because in this case, random people can take advantage of the situation and get 'free' money," Makhmadzoda said.
Experts say one should use logic in these cases and study the issue carefully.
Farishtamoh Gulova, a digital security expert, said every scammer wants to make a certain amount of money and does everything possible to accomplish that.
"First of all, every user should understand how much it is possible to verify exactly the account he sees. That is, how real is the page of the person who posted the information asking for help, and to what extent is that person an active online user?" - Gulova said.
According to her, most users don't use those tools. People believe it's a good thing to do, so they don't have to spread the word about their charity.
"Users of social networks need to improve their digital literacy. First of all, for your own safety, don't put your bank cards and personal information online. Also, when you see a third person's personal information, check to see if that person really needs help. You should never hesitate to ask questions," she said.
"First of all, every user should understand how much it is possible to verify exactly the account he sees. That is, how real is the page of the person who posted the information asking for help, and to what extent is that person an active online user?" - Gulova said.
According to her, most users don't use those tools. People believe it's a good thing to do, so they don't have to spread the word about their charity.
"Users of social networks need to improve their digital literacy. First of all, for your own safety, don't put your bank cards and personal information online. Also, when you see a third person's personal information, check to see if that person really needs help. You should never hesitate to ask questions," she said.
This material was prepared within the framework of the IWPR project "Amplify, Verify, Engage: Information for Democratisation and Good Governance in Eurasia", funded by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, and the mentoring program of the "Development of New Media and Digital Journalism in Central Asia" project, implemented by the Institute for War Reporting and Peace (IWPR) with the support of the UK Government. The content of this publication does not reflect the official views of IWPR, the Norwegian Foreign Office, or the UK Government.
