Recently, a new type of fraud has been gaining momentum in Uzbekistan, involving the sale of cheap household appliances through Telegram. Scammers create groups or channels where they offer goods at low prices, claiming they are either confiscated by customs or being sold due to store liquidations. The other day, law enforcement officers arrested the organizer of one of these schemes, who turned out to be a resident of the Jizzakh region.

This was reported by the Cybersecurity Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

A resident of Jizzakh became a victim of such a scam. He saw an offer to purchase electronics at a very attractive price in one of the Telegram groups and decided to take advantage of the opportunity. During the conversation with the seller, an agreement was reached to buy the goods. The scammer convinced the buyer to transfer an advance payment of 1,200,000 sums, promising free delivery of the electronics in return.

However, after the money was transferred, the «seller» suddenly disappeared. He deleted all the messages and blocked the victim, adding him to the blacklist. It was only then that the customer realized he had been scammed and turned to law enforcement for help.

Cybersecurity officers quickly responded to the report. As a result of their prompt actions, the scammer was arrested in the Samarkand region. He confessed to defrauding the buyer by promising to sell non-existent electronics. He had already spent the money he received on personal needs.

A criminal case has been initiated against the detainee under section «b» of part 3 of article 169 (fraud) of the Criminal Code. He now faces serious punishment.

This situation once again emphasizes the importance of being cautious when making online purchases. Law enforcement agencies warn citizens not to trust advertisements for electronics sold at suspiciously low prices, especially on social networks and messaging apps. If an offer seems too good to be true, it most likely is a scam.

How to protect yourself from such schemes?

1. Check the seller’s reputation. Legitimate stores always have contact details and addresses.
2. Do not transfer money in advance to unknown individuals.
3. Do not trust «liquidations» or «customs confiscations» without proper documentation.

If you encounter a similar situation, immediately contact law enforcement by calling 102 or 1102.

The text has been translated by AI. For more accurate information, please refer to the Russian version of the article