High-Tech Minister urges vigilance amid surge in fraud by 'highly trained' scammers

Armenian Minister of High-Tech Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan has urged citizens to remain vigilant amid an intensified wave of attacks by newly emerged, highly trained scammers seeking to defraud unsuspecting people of money.

He said the scheme involves con artists posing as National Security Service agents. The impostors contact their victims and most often speak Russian, he warned.

“At present, a group of fraudsters is carrying out highly targeted attacks against people working in various fields.
The fraudsters are well-prepared — they thoroughly study people's personal, professional, and social connections. Then, using a fake account created under the name of a familiar or well-known person in a particular field (on WhatsApp, Viber, etc.), they present false information, claiming that the National Security Service is allegedly interested in that person.

Afterward, a fake 'NSS employee' — who often speaks Russian — contacts the targeted individual. In the end, the targeted person is pressured in every possible way to transfer money from their bank accounts to another account supposedly for their own protection.

Be cautious and do not fall for these provocations," the minister said.

The warning comes after two Cabinet ministers – Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan and Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arsen Torosyan, reported that fake accounts had been opened on social media in their names.