Samvel Martirosyan Again Issues Warning

Information security specialist Samvel Martirosyan has made a post on his Facebook page, once again warning about a new method of fraud that has recently emerged in Armenia. “A month ago, I spoke about this, but at that time it was not widespread. It involves hysterical calls, and they are still speaking in Russian without any Armenian adaptation. They call and scream that supposedly a grandchild, daughter, or son has been in an accident,” he informed.

According to him, the scenario is the same: they are asking for money, and there are people who transfer that money. The problem is that they call on a landline phone, hoping that the adult in the house will answer. “The danger is that a person can literally have a heart attack; the calls are so hysterical and frightening, especially if it coincides with the fact that they have a grandchild. It’s essential to warn the elderly who do not use Facebook or Instagram that they should not panic; the money is not significant, and very few people actually send real money,” he emphasized.

Recently, Facebook user Rima Abelyan shared a similar incident that happened to her family. She specifically recounted that after leaving her parents' house, they received a call on their landline in Russian, stating that their daughter had been in an accident, her head was smashed, and they needed to rush to the hospital. “Only she knows what my mother goes through during those moments, along with the people around, and my father, who was paralyzed with fear. My mother starts screaming and crying, asking, ‘What about the son?’ They say, ‘The son is fine, but the daughter is not.’ A doctor is introduced on the line, claiming to calm my mother down. And while my mother’s sugar, blood pressure, and stress levels are peaking, she decides to call me, of course, not even hoping that the daughter with the smashed head would answer the phone. I calmly say, ‘Yes, mom dear’... and here begins my stress, my mom is screaming, crying, ‘Rima, where are you, Rima come!’” she wrote.

Days ago, the Ministry of Internal Affairs also addressed this new method of fraud, warning citizens not to become victims of deception. “Citizens have received calls from unknown persons at landline numbers, claiming that a relative in another country has supposedly been involved in an accident or has supposedly knocked someone down, and urgent money is needed for treatment. Following these calls, individuals have visited the homes of these citizens and fraudulently taken money from them. According to reports received by the police, fraudulent thefts from citizens have involved amounts of 16 thousand, 20 thousand, and 30 thousand dollars,” stated the Ministry of Internal Affairs announcement.