- Статьи
- Internet and technology
- Close loopholes: how scammers use the topic of helping with problems with the law
Close loopholes: how scammers use the topic of helping with problems with the law
Online fraudsters can use various schemes to help with legal problems to deceive Russians, experts have warned about this. In particular, according to the Interior Ministry, attackers are increasingly offering legal services to end the international search for vehicles through Interpol. For more information about how scammers use the topic of helping with problems with the law, what are the dangers of such tricks and how to protect yourself from them, read the Izvestia article.
Why is the topic of helping with problems with the law interesting to scammers?
The topic of legal assistance is attractive to fraudsters because a person in a stressful situation is willing to pay in advance, but it is impossible to verify the result before payment, Evgeny Egorov, a leading analyst at the Digital Risk Protection department at F6, explains in an interview with Izvestia.
"Fraudsters exploit the human condition that arises when faced with a legal problem," confirms Sergey Shcherbakov, technical director of Stakhanovets, an expert in the field of information security and IT. — As a rule, this is a loss of control over circumstances, fear of the unknown, and a willingness to pay any amount for a quick solution.
A legal problem is always associated with uncertainty and fear, as people often do not understand the procedures and the real risks, the expert notes. This, in turn, generates an anxious state, which reduces the criticality of perception. At the same time, scammers do not offer a legal service in its usual sense — they sell the illusion of influencing the law enforcement system.
This formula works flawlessly, because the victim is in an emotionally vulnerable state, according to the source. It is also important that an ordinary citizen may not know how the international search procedure works, how Interpol functions, which authorities make decisions and in what order. Scammers build proposals around these knowledge gaps and reinforce them with pseudo-legal rhetoric.
What is known about Interpol's search assistance schemes
Irina Volk, the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, spoke about one of the fraudulent schemes on helping with problems with the law in her channel in the Maks messenger. According to her, the scammers began offering services to stop the international search for cars through Interpol and delete information about them from databases.
"Legal services are increasingly being offered on the Internet with a guarantee of ending the international search for vehicles through Interpol," Irina Volk pointed out. "It is important to note that those who pass off their mediation or consulting services as an opportunity to ensure that car data is deleted from databases mislead citizens."
Such a decision can be made exclusively by the competent law enforcement agency of a foreign state, on whose initiative the vehicle was put on the wanted list, the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs emphasized. At the same time, documents on the so-called legal purchase of a car do not cancel the fact of its possible theft and cannot automatically terminate the international search.
Irina Volk recalled that the National Central Bureau of Interpol of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and its territorial divisions are engaged in the interaction of Russian law enforcement agencies with the Interpol General Secretariat and the organization's member countries. In addition, any citizen has the right to independently apply to the Interpol File Control Commission with a request to delete or correct information in the information system through the online portal.
"The commission verifies the submitted information, after which it makes a written decision," Irina Volk explained. — Consideration of the request usually takes up to nine months after it is recognized as acceptable. At the same time, the commission's decision concerns only the data in the Interpol system and by itself does not terminate the national search, criminal case or other restrictions on the car."
What other schemes on the topic of assistance in case of problems with the law should be expected?
Meanwhile, fraudulent Interpol search schemes are far from the only ones of their kind. Earlier, the Network had offers to "help" with the refund of money from brokers and "resolve the issue" through contacts in law enforcement agencies, says Evgeny Egorov. As Alexander Vurasko, Director of Development of the Solar AURA External Digital Threat Monitoring Center at Solar Group, notes in an interview with Izvestia, such fraudulent mechanisms are likely to persist at the end of 2026.
"In the coming months, we can expect proposals to quickly lift restrictions on property, lift the travel ban, terminate the case, or delete information from the departmental database," the expert lists. — And before New Year's trips, a promise to "have time to remove restrictions before the holidays" may be a convenient reason for pressure.
According to the source, another likely scenario is to first convince the person that the problem exists, and then offer a paid solution. For example, to send a fake notice of the proceedings and refer them to a supposedly trusted specialist. In such a situation, an "agency employee" and an "independent lawyer" may find themselves participating in the same scheme.
In turn, R-Vision technical account manager Alexander Vinokurov predicts that at the end of 2026, we can expect further development of schemes in which fraudsters combine social engineering with fake digital services. Attackers can create websites of law firms offering guaranteed lifting of restrictions, termination of the search, or deletion of information from government and international databases. For credibility, such resources may contain fake licenses, customer reviews, and documents with government agency symbols.
— The use of generative artificial intelligence deserves special attention, — the expert notes. — With its help, attackers can create plausible legal documents, personalized messages and fake audio or video materials. This reduces the cost of preparing fraudulent scenarios and allows you to scale attacks.
How to protect yourself from legal aid schemes
The potential audience of fraudulent schemes should not be limited to people who have actually violated the law, Alexander Vurasko emphasizes. A car buyer with a "problematic" history, a relative of the accused, a person who lost money from fraudsters, or someone who was simply informed of a fictitious trial may be affected.
"Anyone who finds themselves in a difficult situation or who needs to resolve any legal issues is at risk,— the source told Izvestia. — However, sometimes such "lawyers" come up with non-existent problems.
The danger of such schemes is primarily the loss of money: funds go to individual accounts and electronic wallets, and it is almost impossible to track and return them, Sergei Shcherbakov points out. At the same time, fraudsters receive passport data, account numbers, and copies of documents. This information is then used to arrange loans and new crimes on behalf of the victim.
In order to protect yourself from such threats, Alexander Vurasko advises checking two things.: who is offering help and in what legal way they are going to solve the problem. If an unknown interlocutor has informed about the proceedings, debt, or restriction, it is first necessary to independently confirm the fact of this. You need to find department contacts yourself, rather than using a number sent by the same person.
— If a specialist represents himself as a lawyer, his current status should be checked in the Unified State Register of Lawyers of the Ministry of Justice, — the expert recommends. — After that, you need to contact him or his law school through independently found contacts. The data of a law firm or sole proprietor can be checked through the service of the Federal Tax Service "Transparent Business".
Before paying, it is important to understand what specific actions are included in the service, how much they cost, and who makes the final decision. An advance payment in itself is not a sign of fraud. Unconditional promises of results, references to secret agreements and refusal to explain the procedure should be alarming. The condition for the refund of the fee in case of a certain outcome also does not mean that the lawyer is able to manage the decision of the court or department, concludes Alexander Vurasko.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
