Driver's control: fake license trade moved to Telegram
Fraudsters offering to buy driver's licenses have become more active in Telegram after the mass blocking of websites offering similar services. Izvestia came to this conclusion after studying information in thematic chats and channels of the messenger - currently there are more than 1,000 ads for the sale of driver's licenses of any category. The scammers make mass mailings of announcements in chat rooms, especially those with many migrants. Users are offered to issue licenses with entry into the database of the State Automobile Inspectorate, and after receiving payment they disappear or send fake documents. Experts interviewed by Izvestia call Telegram "a retail branch of the darknet". Izvestia reports on who is more likely to fall victim to sellers of fake driver's licenses and what the participants in the criminal scheme themselves say.
Fake license sellers are "moving" to Telegram
In Telegram for the year has rapidly increased the number of proposals for the sale of driver's licenses fraudsters. One confirmation of this was the almost twofold increase in the number of blockings of the relevant Telegram channels by Roskomnadzor.
- Based on court decisions and the requirements of the Prosecutor General's Office, access to 268 Telegram channels offering to buy fake documents, including driver's licenses, was restricted in 2024. In 2023 - 141," the agency told Izvestia.
In parallel, Roskomnadzor conducted a mass blocking of sites containing similar fraudulent offers. More than 26 thousand resources were closed. It was during this period that scammers began to master the messenger more actively.
As of mid-February, Izvestia counted more than a thousand ads in Telegram, which offered to issue driver's licenses. All of them were placed last year - and they are still being exposed.
In the ads, fraudsters indicate that without problems will make a license of any category with the entry of the driver's data in the databases of the State Automobile Inspectorate. "Izvestia" wrote to representatives of ten channels offering such services. All of them reported that "it is not necessary to be present at the exam at the driving school," while promising to provide a document confirming the passing and all the necessary certificates.
To obtain a license, the scammers ask to send photos of passport pages and a signature on a white sheet of paper. They promise to send the driver's license in two to four days. The main thing is to pay for the order. The price of such a service - from 30 to 60 thousand rubles. After receiving payment, the con artists stop responding to the customer's messages or block him.
In social networks there are groups to combat fraudsters offering to buy driver's licenses. In one of them, "Izvestia" was convinced, screenshots of correspondence of users who were deceived in this way are published. The number of subscribers is more than 2.5 thousand people.
Thus, one of the subscribers through Telegram took a prepayment of 15 thousand rubles and asked to expect delivery, but the document was not sent. All questions were answered that they were "clarifying information". The woman did not manage to return the money.
Another user paid 8 thousand rubles and sent his documents, after which the scammer demanded from the man another 4 thousand, and in case of refusal threatened to put his data in some "databases", so that in the future he could never pass on the rights. Users of the group also write that they were deceived by swindlers offering discounts to parents with many children and participants of the SWO.
Who is more likely to fall victim to scammers
Sometimes swindlers send the promised rights. However, they are fake. In groups in Telegram, scammers show examples of fake IDs made, and also publish "low-quality" examples of other users' work.
Drivers with fakes are regularly detained. For example, in 2024 in the Rostov region, a traffic police officer stopped a driver who had purchased a fake license in his own name on the Internet.
- The document was not produced according to the technology of the enterprise "Goznak": the protective background grid of the form was made by inkjet printing, and the series, number and variable requisites were made with the help of electrography, - told "Izvestia" interlocutor in law enforcement agencies.
Most often fraudsters target certain categories of people. Mostly Central Asians. Most of the ads in Telegram separately state that car licenses will be made for citizens of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan.
"Izvestia" managed to talk to a source previously involved in a fraudulent scheme in Telegram. According to him, illegal migrants often try to get a job as drivers in cabs and delivery services. They do not understand the process of obtaining driver's licenses, so they become easy targets.
- They look for groups where newcomers socialize. For example, religious, news communities, or job search chat rooms. Then they make mailings or write to those who themselves mention difficulties in obtaining a driver's license," he added. - The victim is asked to send various documents. This helps create the appearance of work. The goal is to get payment. Out of ten people who apply, only one is tricked. Victims do not go to the police, because they themselves tried to commit an illegal act.
In addition to migrants, those who cannot obtain their rights legally actively order rights from swindlers. Most often because of medical diagnoses, such as affective, personality and nervous disorders, epilepsy, adds auto expert Julia Miloslavskaya.
Under the law, such actions are qualified as fraud. Criminals can be tried under the administrative article, if the amount of damage is less than 2.5 thousand rubles, otherwise - it's a crime. Liability for the deed is increased if the stolen money is significant, large or especially large, said leading lawyer of the European Legal Service Oleg Cherkasov.
The calculation is made on the fact that the customer is unfamiliar with the procedure of obtaining a license, which is impossible to implement in such a short time, said Yulia Miloslavskaya.
- After all, now without presence at the exam the license will not be issued: the process is recorded on a video camera. This applies to both theoretical testing and testing of driving skills in the city. In the future, the records remain in the archive in case of checks.
For admission to the exam you need to collect a package of documents: passport, medical certificate, certificate of completion of driving courses. Minors must obtain parental consent notarized by a notary. All this is not a quick process, the expert summarized.
How bribes are paid for driver's licenses
The practice of obtaining a driver's license for a bribe also exists, but it is arranged differently. As a source close to the State Automobile Inspectorate told Izvestia, most often illegally obtain a license help in driving schools, where there are already established links with law enforcement officers.
- The future driver is simplified in taking the exam. The theoretical part takes place on a computer, which gives a positive result regardless of the mistakes made. Practical driving is taken with an inspector, who "does not notice" deficiencies, and sometimes even presses the pedals for the driver. You can 'buy' a medical certificate with the necessary stamps through him," he said.
This information was also confirmed by the owner of a network of driving schools in the capital, with whom the Izvestia correspondent contacted under the guise of wanting to buy a license after deprivation. The woman left an announcement with the proposal in Telegram. According to her, the exam is passed from the first time - allegedly assisted by law enforcement officers. The cost of the service - 60 thousand rubles.
- I check the customer's documents through the Ministry of Internal Affairs, you also need to "thank" the traffic police in advance. You go to the exam with me by the hand, and you will take it together with students from my school. The payment is either on my husband's card or in my hands," she said.
Such cases happen from time to time. In August 2024, the Oktyabrsky District Court of St. Petersburg sent deputy chief of the traffic police Andrei Orlov into custody. He decided to make money illegally on those wishing to pass the license exam. According to his plan, during the exam the traffic police officer provided candidates with easier routes and gave hints. His acquaintance was looking for willing candidates. The employee himself did not admit guilt, reported in the joint press service of the courts of St. Petersburg.
In November, the Investigative Committee of the Chelyabinsk region completed the investigation against a former police officer for a similar crime. It is established that the accused spent part of the bribes on the purchase of a Lexus car, which was seized. Also his colleague was brought to responsibility. In his work nine facts of receiving bribes were revealed. The case has also been referred to court.
According to the Criminal Code of Russia, for such actions, law enforcement officers face an article for taking a bribe by an official (article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Under this article, they can be imprisoned for three to eight years
In the same month, according to the Interior Ministry's press service, law enforcers detained representatives of more than 50 St. Petersburg driving schools who were suspected of transferring illegal remuneration to employees. "Izvestia" sent a request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation with a request to provide details of these cases and to tell how the system for checking license exams works.
Why scammers are moving to Telegram
- It's as if Telegram has recently become a retail branch of the darknet," Ashot Oganesyan, founder of the DLBI data leak intelligence and darknet monitoring service, told Izvestia. - More and more criminal sellers buy illegal goods and services on the darknet and then sell them through bots and Telegram channels.
The expert attributed this trend to the widespread use of the messenger and its accessibility to those segments of the population "for whom the darknet is difficult".
- And secondly, unlike Internet sites, the owner of a Telegram bot or channel is very difficult to find and almost impossible to block without the assistance of the messenger administration, which can consider such requests for months, while access to a site with banned content is blocked in our country in less than a day," Ashot Oganesyan said.
According to Evgeny Pankov, a data analyst at the domain.ru/.RF coordination center, the fraudsters chose Telegram because of its technical features, which make the messenger a convenient tool for criminals.
- Account registration requires only a phone number and is absolutely free. In addition, the audience of the social network is constantly growing. With a website is more complicated: you need to register a domain and spend time to buy hosting and development," he said.
The expert added that by choosing a popular messenger, criminals expect that it will be more difficult to catch them. In Runet it is easier to fight fraudulent domains: on average they are blocked in 13.5 hours. Telegram, on the other hand, provides greater anonymity, and its blocking mechanisms remain opaque.
- Communication with the platform's support is one-way. There is no feedback on the sent complaint," said Evgeny Pankov.
He noted that resources in Telegram are indeed blocked, but it is impossible to predict when and what kind of resources are blocked.
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