Illegal activities of international cybercriminal networks against our country are being prevented.
According to the information provided to “Elchi” by the press service of the State Security Service, numerous violations targeting civil servants, as well as employees of various enterprises and organizations, have been recorded recently. These are carried out by organized cybercriminal groups operating outside the borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan, who create fake social media and instant messaging accounts using numbers belonging to Azerbaijani mobile operators.
It was stated that these networks, led by foreign citizens, use special computer programs to mass-collect contact numbers of employees from the official websites of government agencies, enterprises, and organizations. Using these numbers, they send “urgent” messages via the “WhatsApp” application from fake accounts created using photos of the heads of the respective institutions. They then redirect the victims to other fake accounts posing as law enforcement agencies, where they are instructed to transfer funds to foreign accounts or perform other tasks.
It was noted that within the framework of operational-investigative measures launched regarding these facts, some participants of the mentioned criminal acts have been identified, and international legal procedures have been initiated against them.
“In addition, complex measures are being continued in cooperation with the relevant authorities of foreign states, as well as the security departments and platform operators of international technology companies to which the respective social networks and platforms belong, in order to fully expose the members of the criminal network.
At a time when the development of information technologies is accompanied by broad opportunities for abuse, citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan should demonstrate vigilance against suspicious contacts established for criminal purposes via social networks and instant messaging platforms, and inform state authorities in a timely manner,” the statement says.