Recently, we reported that Kazakhstani citizens are discussing a video titled "A Pretend Policeman Managed to Call a Real Officer." In the footage, a man is seen holding a phone and speaking via video call with another man dressed in law enforcement uniform. Citizens of Kazakhstan speculated that the video might be a deepfake.
A representative from the capital's police department commented on the video to NUR.KZ.
"The police department of Astana warns about a new type of fraud. The perpetrator used a neural network to replicate the appearance of the first deputy head of the Astana police department and made a video call.
The capital's police strongly recommend that in such cases, you immediately end the conversation and report it to the channel '102'. Stay vigilant and do not fall for the tricks of scammers," the police stated.
It is worth noting that according to information on the Astana police department's website, the position of first deputy head is held by Eldar Daniyarov, who has been in this role since February 2024.
For more information on what a deepfake is and how to avoid becoming a victim of this type of fraud, you can read our article at this link.
Additionally, it should be noted that this year, several video calls between Kazakhstani citizens and scammers have been recorded. In September, the Cyberpol task force prevented fraud against an elderly resident of Semey. The man explained that he was receiving calls from fake law enforcement officers who demanded money under the threat of criminal liability for non-existent transfers to accounts of terrorist groups in neighboring countries.
Another conversation with scammers, who were then posing as mobile network operators, was published by the Astana police department in August.
Another video was recorded in the Pavlodar region. Initially, the conversation was held with a supposed "employee" of eGov, followed by a "senior officer of the KNB."
Furthermore, in May of this year, the police warned that scammers had started using video calls to arrange loans in the names of their victims. The police urged citizens not to answer calls from unknown numbers, even if they are video calls.