Invests $100,000: Details on Cybercrime

The number of cybercrimes in Armenia is increasing year by year. If 4-5 years ago, about 300 people fell victim to such crimes annually, the number of victims has surpassed 1,100 in the years 2022-23. This statistic was presented during a press conference by Hayk Mkrtchyan, head of the Cybercrime Prevention Department of the Criminal Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

According to him, there has been a significant rise in computer thefts worldwide during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as several sectors of work transitioned online. Currently, artificial intelligence is also widely used in such crimes. Various advertisements use not only the voices of well-known individuals but also their likenesses. Criminals even manage to mimic lip movements to resemble actual speech.

“We must understand that any good technological tool is used not only for positive purposes but also by criminals. Over these years, the largest financial loss suffered by an individual in Armenia amounted to a loss of $1 million in cryptocurrency. Fraudsters used software vulnerabilities to gain access to their wallet and commit theft. Another citizen made an investment exceeding $100,000, hoping to earn larger profits in a short time,” he stated.

Mkrtchyan emphasized that the annual number of cybercrimes could be much higher than 1,100, as many victims do not report to law enforcement, and criminal proceedings are only initiated in cases where reports are made.

Regarding the types of cybercrimes, Mkrtchyan mentioned that studies from the last two years indicate that people have particularly fallen victim to investment frauds. The scheme of these crimes involves enticing individuals through advertisements to invest in various platforms, promising them large financial returns. People also incur significant financial losses from fraudsters’ proposals to invest in cryptocurrencies.

The next common crime type is phishing, where money is stolen from individuals’ card accounts. For example, individuals are notified via SMS that they have a package, leading them to a fake postal service website where they enter their bank account information and fall victim to the crime.

There are also many cases where people sell their goods (ranging from household appliances to cars) on various platforms, and then someone contacts them, claiming to be in a remote village, and asks for their banking details to transfer money online.

The third most common crime type is when individuals are offered jobs, such as watching videos on different social networks, writing comments, and getting paid for it. After performing this work for some time, they receive a link indicating they have accumulated some money and can now withdraw it. By clicking the link or providing their card details, they again fall victim to fraud.

Mkrtchyan noted that there has been a significant decrease in crimes related to the leakage of personal data through phone calls. He stated that in the past, people were called by someone pretending to be a bank employee who easily obtained their passwords and stole all the money on their cards (or arranged new loans), but now such cases are almost nonexistent.

According to Mkrtchyan, this highlights the preventive measures taken both by the police and by specialists in the private sector.