A meeting was held to improve students’ legal and financial literacy

Today, a meeting aimed at improving students’ legal and financial literacy was held at the South Kazakhstan Medical Academy. Specialists from the Shymkent City Department of Internal Policy and Youth Affairs’ “Youth Resource Center” and representatives of law enforcement agencies held an open-format discussion with students, talking about ways to protect themselves from modern threats. Kambar Toktassin, Head of the Department for Work with Higher Technical and Vocational Education Institutions at the “Youth Resource Center,” explained in detail the dangers of smartphones and the internet. He also addressed issues such as protecting personal information on social media, avoiding suspicious links, and not sharing personal data with strangers. While speaking about smartphone security, Kambar Toktassin emphasized the importance of device-locking methods and common mistakes when choosing PIN codes and passwords. According to him, many citizens still use simple PINs like “1234,” “0000,” or their date of birth — making them an easy target for cybercriminals. At the meeting, Anuar Orynbekov, an operative officer for particularly important cases at the Shymkent Economic Investigation Department, spoke about the most common types of financial fraud. Anuar Oralbekuly noted: “Financial literacy is necessary not only for economists but for everyone. Suspicious phone calls, people pretending to be from the bank, advertisements promising easy earnings — all of these are tricks used by scammers. Everyone must know the basic principles of protecting their money.” Students were given specific recommendations — not to share their bank card details and not to download unknown applications. Specialists also reminded attendees that in case of encountering fraud, it is essential to immediately contact law enforcement agencies.