Ministry of Internal Affairs Warns: Currency Exchange Advertisements are a Trap

Numerous enticing advertisements exist on various social media platforms, offering citizens the chance to exchange currency, particularly rubles, at a higher rate than that seen in exchange points. This information comes from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“The fraud scheme is as follows: the criminals first rent an expensive car and instruct the driver to go to a trading center with dual entry-exit. The individual wishing to exchange currency is also asked to approach the same location. Through a phone call, they connect the renter's car driver with the person looking to exchange currency, who is told beforehand that the driver is supposedly very busy and will have a close acquaintance come to take the money – referring to the driver, who will exchange the money at the trading center and return. Thus, it is necessary to hand the money to him and wait in the car.”

The driver takes the money intended for exchange, enters the trading center, and does not return. The person trapped in the scam, waiting in the expensive car, does not even consider that it has been rented or that the driver is not at all the criminal’s acquaintance. As a result, the citizen does not receive the money they were expecting and is left empty-handed.

Dear citizens, we urge you to conduct currency exchanges only through licensed currency dealers authorized by the Central Bank of Armenia and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Armenia to avoid falling victim to fraud.