Recently, Ukrainians have increasingly become victims of cyber fraudsters who actively use the internet to organize financial scams. The perpetrators offer citizens high-paying jobs that supposedly require minimal effort and time, promising earnings of up to 2200 UAH per day for completing simple tasks.
This is reported by Finway
How Fraudsters Extract Money
One of the latest schemes involves sending messages via messengers on behalf of imaginary employers. Citizens receive offers promising daily payments for viewing and “liking” hotels. For example, one Ukrainian woman received such a message from an unknown contact, accompanied by an image with the text:
“Hello! I am a representative of the HR department of Opatima.com.ua. If you don’t mind, I would like to invite you to like our hotels, and we will pay you for it daily. It will only take 7-10 minutes a day. We pay from 220 to 2200 UAH per day. If you want to try and learn more, reply ‘Ok’,” reads the text on the image received by the reader.”
However, in addition to the unrealistically high payments for unqualified work, the inconsistency in the name of the “company” should raise suspicion: at the top of the image, it states “Optima.com.ua,” while at the bottom it says “Opatima.com.ua.” This may indicate fraudulent activity, and it is strongly advised not to click on such links.
The Mechanism of Fraudulent Actions
This type of deception is not new: initially, the fraudsters may indeed transfer a small amount — for example, 50-100 UAH — for completing the first task. This step creates a sense of trust in the victim towards the employer. Next, the scammers offer to complete a “more serious task” — for instance, booking a hotel room on a specific site at the victim’s own expense, promising to refund the spent amount with a bonus. In fact, at this stage, the money may be refunded, but this is only part of the fraudulent trap.
The next step involves a message about a “system failure,” which supposedly requires another payment: either for identity verification or as a guarantee. Ultimately, the victims transfer significantly more money to the fraudsters than they received, after which all contact with the scammers is cut off, and all connections disappear.
Experts advise always checking information about employers, not trusting suspicious offers, and not sending money to unknown individuals. In case of suspected fraud, it is advisable to immediately contact law enforcement authorities.