According to Akylbekov, fraudsters often pose as employees of the police, the State National Security Committee, or banks, both state and commercial. The hallmark of such crimes is the absence of personal contact: all manipulations occur through phone calls, messengers, and websites, where the victim is subjected to psychological pressure.
The most vulnerable are elderly people who speak Russian, including those who have conversational proficiency.
“Those who do not speak Russian are less likely to fall for the tricks of fraudsters. Nevertheless, we record many cases where victims share their personal data, including information about bank accounts and card passwords. Once fraudsters obtain this information, they can steal money. There have been cases where citizens took out loans and transferred funds to the criminals, as well as sold their property and sent the money from the sale,” noted Aliskhan Akylbekov.
He reported that steps are being taken at the legislative level to combat this problem. In August 2025, amendments to the Criminal Code of Kyrgyzstan were adopted, regulating responsibility for the intentional transfer and sale of electronic funds, wallets, virtual assets, and SIM cards.
“Citizens themselves create conditions for fraudsters by registering bank cards in their names and providing access to their electronic applications. This is done for small amounts of money — from 5,000 to 10,000 soms. People act either out of ignorance or with deliberate intent. Fraudsters use these accounts to withdraw money obtained through criminal means. When purchasing a SIM card, it is essential not to transfer access to WhatsApp to other individuals; otherwise, fraudsters can call and deceive citizens from anywhere in the world. We are actively working on solving such crimes,” added the specialist.
From August to December of last year, according to the new amendments, 116 "droppers" — individuals who sold their bank cards — were detained. Of these, 30 people were brought to criminal responsibility.
Aliskhan Akylbekov noted that after the publication of this information, the number of cybercrimes using dropper bank cards began to decrease.
