Scammers in Arkhangelsk threaten three-day water shutoff in mass fraud
Telephone scammers in Arkhangelsk are posing as employees of «Rosvodokanal,» frightening people with water shutoffs and informing them of some planned inspections. Users have started calling RVK en masse to clarify information. The company explained how to distinguish a real «Rosvodokanal» employee.
«Specialists» calling on behalf of «RVK-Arkhangelsk» first reported a three-day water shutoff, offered to issue a special card for receiving delivered water, and to confirm the application, asked to provide a code from an SMS.
«The mass nature of these calls from different parts of the city immediately alarmed us,» shares senior dispatcher of our Central Dispatch Service Oksana Novikova. «We, of course, were glad that people showed caution and immediately called our call center for clarification. But there are concerns that someone, especially an elderly person, could believe in this scam.»
Afterward, the scammers« scheme changed. Now, callers under various pretexts — »planned inspection,« »pressure measurement in the house,« or urgent »installation of smart telemetric meters« — tried to obtain confidential codes from SMS. At the same time, as noted in the company»s press service, they often addressed people by their first name and patronymic to gain trust.
«We never call residents with offers to buy or install any meters,» explains the head of the Central Dispatch Service Ilya Popov. «All applications for installing metering devices we accept exclusively through the company»s official electronic services on the website or during a personal visit to the office. Also, our employees do not engage in pressure measurements in houses — that is the responsibility area of managing companies.«
Information about water shutoffs «RVK» conveys through automatic calls or via managing companies, the delivery of drinking water is free, no cards need to be issued.
«Our employees do not go door-to-door with sudden commercial offers. A genuine controller acting on behalf of RVK-Arkhangelsk always has a properly executed contract with the enterprise. We always notify residents in advance about planned control readings of meters through announcements on entrances,» noted the company.
If you have been called regarding verification, sealing, shutoff, or other works, end the conversation and call back «RVK» at the official call center number: 61-00-00, to clarify all details.
More about fraud in Arkhangelsk Region
Police from Arkhangelsk Region uncovered a series of thefts from bank accounts. A scammer from Orenburg Region deceived and stole money from northerners.
Earlier, a resident of Kotlas gave a stranger 10 million rubles (approximately $100,000 at current rates) in cash.
Another high-profile case occurred in summer. City residents helped a 73-year-old pensioner who was deceived by telephone scammers. The woman wanted to transfer her savings to unknown individuals, but right on Chumbarova-Luchinskogo Avenue, she was overheard and dissuaded by passersby.
