In Uzbekistan, almost half of crimes are committed using information technology

In Uzbekistan, 98% of cybercrimes are related to bank cards, with fraudsters able to steal more than 1.9 trillion soums from citizens in four years, “Gazeta.uz” reports, citing the representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Cybersecurity Center, Maksudjon Mirabdullayev.

According to the expert, in 2024 alone, the damage from the offenders’ actions amounted to 603 billion soums. At the same time, the department representative noted that over the past year, the share of crime in the overall structure has increased to 44.4%, so that “almost every second crime is committed using information technologies”. As a result, in 2024 alone, law enforcement officers initiated 58.8 thousand criminal cases.

At the same time, 60% of such crimes are committed through the dissemination of malicious links and programs, with the help of which fraudsters gain access to the victims’ cards and mobile devices. Another 16% occur through false calls and other tricks to obtain SMS codes. In 11% of cases, the perpetrators operate through online platforms Olx.uz, Olcha, and other trading sites, in 9% — by involving citizens in supposedly operating electronic exchanges and online trading, and in 4% — by illegally issuing online loans in the name of other persons.

Crimes are also committed using dip fakes, that is, the appearance of famous people — artists, bloggers, athletes. With the help of artificial intelligence, fake videos are created, which are then used when processing online loans. People believe in them and become victims. 31% of crimes are committed precisely in this way, — noted Maksudjon Mirabdullayev.

A representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that most often, cybercrimes are committed not by hacking systems or platforms, but because people themselves send SMS codes to attackers or transfer money by believing fake trading platforms. The fraudulent model of transferring money for the “delivery” of a prize, allegedly won by a citizen, is no less popular.

The specialist noted that to prevent such cases, operational headquarters have been established in the country together with the Central Bank and payment organizations, and also reminded that if a cybercrime is detected, you can immediately call the short numbers 102 or 1102. Because, first of all, law enforcement officers try to block the transfer of funds to prevent their loss.

People often write on social media: “Why don’t the internal affairs bodies return our money?” or “Why don’t the officers find criminals quickly?” We are not a body that returns money. Our task is to catch the criminals and transfer them to the investigative authorities. The return of funds is carried out by court decision. If citizens report a cybercrime promptly, we can freeze the funds and thereby accelerate their return, — a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs center emphasized.

Earlier, it was reported that Uzbeks would not pay for microloans issued by fraudsters. The country plans to strengthen the protection of citizens in the field of cybercrime.