Kazakhstan’s Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM) has warned about another scam involving fake government letters sent in the agency’s name.
On September 15, 2026, the agency said fraudsters had been using documents designed to look like official AFM correspondence. In one recent case, a fake letter was sent to a government body claiming that an inspection was underway and requesting information about a citizen.
The warning has brought renewed attention to AFM and what the agency actually does.
What is the Agency for Financial Monitoring?
The Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Financial Monitoring, commonly known as AFM or АФМ, is a state agency responsible for combating financial and economic crime.
Its work includes detecting and investigating activities connected with money laundering, financing of terrorism, financial pyramid schemes, illegal financial operations and other economic crimes.
AFM also operates Kazakhstan’s economic investigation bodies and regularly investigates cases involving fraudulent investment projects, illegal gambling, cryptocurrency schemes and large-scale financial fraud.
In September alone, the agency has reported investigations involving illegal cryptocurrency lending, financial pyramids and phishing operations targeting Kazakhstan residents.
AFM is therefore not a bank or a normal financial services regulator. It is a government body involved in financial intelligence and criminal investigations.
Why did AFM issue a warning?
According to the agency, scammers are creating documents that appear to come from AFM.
These letters can contain official-looking details such as government logos, names, signatures, stamps and references to supposed investigations or inspections.
The latest case involved a letter sent to a government organization. The scammers claimed that an inspection was taking place and requested information about a particular citizen.
AFM said this was not the first time such a method had been used.
In previous cases, fraudsters first sent fake documents and later contacted people by phone or through messaging apps while pretending to be AFM employees.
They then attempted to obtain personal information, banking details or money.
A government logo does not make a document genuine
Fake government documents have become much easier to create.
A letter can contain a convincing logo, signature, stamp and formal language while still being completely fraudulent.
This is why people should avoid judging the authenticity of a document only by how professional it looks.
The same applies to messages received through WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS or email.
A scammer may already know a person’s name, phone number or other information. That does not prove that the person contacting you works for a government agency.
AFM does not ask people to transfer money
One of the clearest warning signs is a request involving money or confidential banking information.
AFM has previously stated that scammers posing as agency employees have contacted people claiming that their bank accounts were restricted because of suspected fraudulent activity.
The callers then asked victims for banking information or sent fake AFM documents containing government details and signatures.
AFM has said that the agency does not service individuals’ bank accounts, conduct financial transactions for them or contact individuals for this purpose.
You should therefore be extremely cautious if someone claiming to represent AFM asks you to:
- transfer money;
- move funds to another or “safe” account;
- provide your card number or CVV;
- provide internet banking credentials;
- disclose an SMS or OTP verification code;
- install an application on your phone;
- keep the conversation secret from your bank or family.
These are common signs of financial fraud.
AFM is also fighting phishing scams
Interestingly, AFM is not only warning people about criminals impersonating the agency. It has also been investigating the infrastructure used for large-scale phishing attacks.
The agency recently reported stopping a group that allegedly used an SMS blaster, equipment capable of imitating mobile network base stations.
According to AFM, approximately 150,000 phishing SMS messages were sent over four days to subscribers of Beeline, Kcell and Activ.
The messages impersonated well-known companies and directed victims to fake websites where they were asked to enter information including their phone number, name, payment card details, CVV and SMS confirmation code.
Cases like this show how sophisticated financial scams in Kazakhstan are becoming.
A fraudulent message no longer necessarily looks badly written or obviously fake.
What should you do if you receive a letter from AFM?
Do not immediately follow the instructions contained in the letter.
Instead, verify the information independently.
The safest approach is to visit Kazakhstan’s official gov.kz website and find AFM through the government portal rather than following a link provided in the message.
If somebody calls you claiming to be from AFM, do not provide confidential banking information during the call.
AFM lists 1458 as its call centre number and has previously advised people who encounter fraudulent schemes to contact law-enforcement authorities or the agency through official channels.
Most importantly, verification should be independent.
If a suspicious letter provides a telephone number and tells you to call that number to confirm the document, that is not proper verification. The telephone number itself could belong to the scammers.
Why this matters
Financial scams increasingly rely on fear rather than simple promises of easy money.
A phone call supposedly coming from a bank, police department or government agency can make people act quickly without checking whether the story makes sense.
Terms such as “investigation,” “account restriction,” “financial monitoring” or “criminal case” can make a fake request appear urgent.
That urgency is exactly what scammers want.
An official-looking AFM letter should therefore be treated like any other unexpected financial communication: check the source before providing information or taking action.
AFM is a real Kazakhstan government agency with significant powers to investigate financial crime. But a person using its name, logo or a copy of its letterhead is not automatically an AFM employee.
When money or banking information is involved, verify first.