She withdrew her savings and took out loans: how a pensioner was scammed

Almost every Kazakhstani has probably received a call from someone pretending to be a bank employee and asking for card details. Some people are aware of fraudsters’ tactics and simply ignore suspicious calls. They are the lucky ones. Others, however, have fallen victim to scammers and lost their savings — as happened to around 20,000 Kazakhstanis. Phone fraud has become a national problem. Criminals continue to develop increasingly sophisticated methods to deceive their victims. How can people protect themselves from fraudsters? And does the law provide effective protection against criminals who steal other people’s money?