Uzbek pensioners warned about phone scams

The Pension Fund has issued a warning after reports that fraudsters have been calling elderly citizens and asking for personal information under the pretext of increasing their pensions.

According to the statement, scammers introduce themselves as bank or Pension Fund employees. They tell pensioners that their payments will be increased next month and claim that, to receive the money, they must provide their bank card or passport details and share a verification code sent to their phone. They also falsely warn that the pension increase will not be processed if the information is not provided.

The Pension Fund stressed that its employees never call citizens to request personal data or verification codes.

Citizens are urged never to share passport details, bank card information, or their PINFL (personal identification number) with strangers. Anyone who encounters such suspicious calls should contact the Pension Fund hotline at 1271 or the police at 102.

Earlier, a person who defrauded hundreds of citizens via Telegram, causing more than 4.8 billion soums in damages, was sentenced to five years and one month in prison.

Javohir Alikulov