A sophisticated job scam offering remote work on behalf of Yandex Market and other well-known companies is spreading in Uzbekistan. Victims are promised easy money for simple tasks like "promoting products," but end up losing all their own funds. The trap begins with an Instagram ad marked "Advertisement," designed in the brand colors of a popular national marketplace. The offer looks almost perfect: work from home, one to three hours a day, and payment on the day the task is completed. For one hour of work, they promise 500,000 soums; for two hours, 1.2 million; for three hours, 2.3 million soums. The tasks themselves seem harmless: checking orders, confirming data, and updating statuses. However, upon closer inspection, strange details emerge: the ad is posted by an unrelated account with an English name, and the content appears AI-generated. Real companies do not post vacancies this way, but job seekers often miss these red flags. After clicking the apply button, the user is automatically redirected to Telegram.
In the messenger, the victim is greeted by a "curator" or "mentor" with a Yandex Market logo avatar, a stated work schedule from 9:00 to 21:00, and a businesslike communication style. Although the ad was from Uzum, the person claims to be from Yandex Market – the first discrepancy that is easy to overlook. The conversation follows a scripted scenario: first, they ask for age, name, profession, and phone number. Then they send "rules" claiming that orders are formed jointly with Uzum Market, Amazon, Bonanza, and eBay, and that the platform guarantees the safety of invested funds. The mention of familiar brands is meant to create a sense of reliability. The victim is also warned not to disclose details of the work and is forbidden from registering multiple accounts. In reality, this protects the scheme from publicity and repeated scrutiny. Once trust is gained, "training" begins.
The first task consists of nine orders to be completed on a website styled as Yandex Market (pmhnss.cc) or Savdo markazi (auns6.com). The mentor sends screenshots with arrows: where to click, what to confirm. A starting balance of 20,000 soums for nine orders turns into 61,000. Then comes the crucial step: the victim is asked to link a bank card, and a small amount actually arrives. The scammers deliberately spend a little of their own money so the person sees the deposit and believes "it works." This is followed by "congratulations" on the first "earnings" and new promises: for three tasks, a bonus of 3.5 million soums and a staff position with a salary from 5.5 to 15 million. After such a "victory," the person is motivated to go all the way.
The second stage is where the scheme fully reveals itself: the victim is asked to deposit their own money. The interlocutor sends a table of "tasks and commission payments." The logic is simple: the more of your own money you transfer to a card, the higher the promised earnings. For example, a deposit of 100,000 soums promises a return of 155,000–180,000, while transferring 700,000 supposedly yields up to 1.18 million soums. The money is to be sent to a regular private individual's card and confirmed with a receipt. When the person tries to withdraw the "earned" money, the system blocks it, citing an "incomplete order." To access their own funds and accrued profit, they are required to pay more – for instance, 279,899 soums. The "curator" insists that orders are random, cannot be canceled, and payment must be made within an hour, or all previously transferred money will be lost. This is a classic trap: having already sent money, the victim agrees to pay more to save it. But as soon as the payment is made, the system generates a new "error" and demands an even larger transfer. If the "employee" refuses to send more money, the tone changes abruptly. In our journalistic experiment, we warned the contact about handing over all materials and details to law enforcement. The scammers cynically replied that "threats are useless" and that all terms had been agreed upon in advance.
This is not just an Uzbek story. Similar schemes have long been known beyond Uzbekistan, and the scenario is almost identical everywhere. Russian experts from Informzashita described it back in spring 2025: scammers posed as employees of a non-existent marketplace platform and used up to 10–12 fake accounts to create a trusting atmosphere. The first task was to add items to favorites for 300–400 rubles. In Singapore, according to police, since May 2023, at least 1,399 people have fallen victim to this scheme, with losses of at least $19.9 million. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission recorded that the number of complaints about "gamified" schemes grew from about 5,000 for all of 2023 to 20,000 in just the first half of 2024. According to an agency representative, the real scale is larger: only about 4.8% of victims file complaints. What sets the Uzbek version apart is its adaptation to local consumers: familiar brands, soums, local bank cards, and communication in Uzbek and Russian.
How to recognize the scheme? Key signs of fraud include: at the advertising stage – unrealistic money (500,000 soums per hour for simple clicks), a suspicious profile (an account unrelated to the brand), and a push to messengers (all work is done exclusively in Telegram without a contract). In communication with the "curator" – brand confusion (the ad uses Uzum, but the chat and website show Yandex Market logo), psychological pressure and artificial urgency ("must be done within an hour"), and demands for secrecy. On the fraudulent website – a foreign address (the domain pmhnss.cc was only three months old), poor translation, game elements (VIP levels, ratings, internal commissions), and blocks and "fines." When transferring money – payment to a personal card and fabulous returns (55–70% profit for one order).
If you have already transferred money, stop paying immediately: the next "top-up" will not return the previous ones. Save the correspondence, receipts, and screenshots of the website. Call your bank as soon as possible and report the fraud – sometimes the transfer can be blocked. Then file a report with the internal affairs bodies (102). Finally, send complaints about the ad to Instagram and the Telegram account, as well as to the marketplace whose name was used. The main thing to remember is that scammers count on the victim feeling ashamed and staying silent. The faster the victim speaks out, the greater the chance to protect others. However, recovering the funds is unlikely.
Source: podrobno.uz