How to fight corruption

Imagine you live in the former Soviet Union. Now imagine that you get a message saying ‘How to overcome GAI corruption’ [GAI – State Automobile Inspectorate, or, to put it more crudely, the traffic cops].

You’re a driver, so you’ve likely been stopped by a cop or two in your time, and maybe made to cough up some money on a flimsy pretext. Yes, corruption’s something you’d like to see stopped.

So you read on, and find out that you can send your suggestions to the head of the GAI by sending an SMS to a short number. The message even tells you that this service is supported by the Ukrainian Automobile State Inspectorate.

Is this scam starting to sound familiar? It’s not just cops who are corrupt…