In Ukraine, there has been a sharp increase in cases of fraud where criminals impersonate employees of the Security Service of Ukraine or other law enforcement agencies. The main goal of these fraudsters is to exert psychological pressure on citizens and extort money under the pretext of fictitious criminal cases.
This is reported by Finway
How the fraudsters operate
The criminals act persistently and aggressively: they call or message on social media, posing as SBU employees. Their tactic is to instill panic in the victim and make them believe that a criminal case has been opened against them for serious offenses, such as treason or financing an aggressor country. To enhance their credibility, the fraudsters send fake summonses for interrogation that appear to be official documents.
The SBU reminds that the agency operates strictly within the law and never demands money for “closing cases,” therefore urging Ukrainians to follow basic safety rules:
Once the victim succumbs to panic, the fraudsters offer to “resolve the issue” by paying a certain amount of money to specified accounts supposedly for verification or case closure. This scheme is aimed at quickly seizing citizens’ money.
How to protect yourself from fraudsters
- Do not panic and document the information. Write down the phone numbers from which calls are received and take screenshots of messages and documents sent by the fraudsters.
- Exercise financial caution. Do not make any urgent money transfers, and do not disclose your bank card details or passwords.
- Verify all received information. Rely only on official sources: the website ssu.gov.ua and verified SBU pages on social media.
In case of receiving threats or suspicious messages from individuals claiming to be SBU employees or other agencies, law enforcement strongly recommends immediately contacting the special service through official communication channels. This will help promptly identify the fraudsters and prevent financial losses.
It is worth noting that by the end of 2025, the number of cyber fraud cases in Ukraine decreased, however, the total amounts of losses from such crimes continue to rise.