Why do children help scammers rob their parents?

      According to Valery Gorelykh, head of the press service of the Sverdlovsk regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there has been an increase in cases in the Middle Urals where scammers are deliberately involving minors in their criminal schemes.

      Using psychological pressure methods, the perpetrators manipulate children, forcing them to follow instructions that lead to the theft of money and other valuables from their own parents. Essentially, teenagers become unwitting accomplices to crimes, not even realizing the consequences of their actions.

      Another high-profile case confirming this alarming trend occurred in Yekaterinburg. Unknown individuals called a 13-year-old girl on her mobile phone under the guise of a delivery service and asked for a code from an SMS supposedly to receive a package. The trusting child, not suspecting any danger, complied with the request of the "well-wishers." Following this, she was contacted by a fake FSB officer, who shocked her with a message about unauthorized access to her account on the government services portal and her father's bank accounts. To resolve the issue, it was necessary to urgently switch to video communication.

      "Having fallen into the scammers' net, the teenager was subjected to 'processing' for a whole week after the first call, under strict orders not to tell anyone about it, otherwise, there would be trouble for the whole family. She took photos of all the rooms in the house and sent them to the 'kind uncles,' and when they realized there was something to gain, seeing the safe, they asked for the keys to the residence. On the day when the whole family went for a bike ride, the girl handed over the keys to the criminals, who then easily entered the house, used a grinder to open a metal box, and took out a large sum of currency, as well as earrings and rings belonging to the wife.

      The emotions of the robbed parents, who were victimized through their own child, cannot be expressed in words. To prevent such incidents from recurring, it is necessary to explain to children in schools and families, without formality, who it is safe to communicate with in modern realities and who is dangerous, and to thoroughly explain the possible consequences of discussions with strangers. If a real, not just for show, explanatory conversation had been held with the aforementioned girl in her home and at her educational institution, the scammers would have been left without another easy target," noted Colonel Gorelykh.

      According to him, a criminal case has been initiated by the police on this matter under part 3 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - fraud. He also reminded that representatives of law enforcement agencies, banks, the "Gosuslugi" portal, and other government organizations never require codes from SMS to be communicated over the phone, keys to be handed over, or any instructions to be carried out secretly from parents.