A new scheme of deception: scammers extort money under the guise of voting for yards

Scammers use the vote for landscaping as a cover to extort money from Russians The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation has warned citizens about a new fraudulent scheme that is actively spreading in the Telegram messenger. The attackers use the theme of urban improvement as a bait to gain access to the personal data and bank accounts of the victims. The deception scenario begins with a seemingly harmless message. The messenger user receives a notification from an unknown contact person, who introduces himself, for example, as a neighbor or the administrator of a communal chat. The message says about the upcoming voting for projects to improve the surrounding area - the installation of playgrounds, landscaping or parking. To participate in the survey, the victim is asked to follow the attached link. After clicking on the link, the citizen receives an SMS message with a confirmation code. A fraudster conducting a dialogue, under a plausible pretext (for example, to identify a voter or complete registration in voting), convinces the interlocutor to dictate this code. By fulfilling this requirement, the victim actually provides the scammers with access to his account on the Gosuslugi portal or to other important services. Having obtained the code, the attackers proceed to the second stage of deception, using the already classic and well-developed method of psychological pressure. They inform the stunned man that his personal account on the public services portal has been hacked, and right now there is an attempt to steal his personal data and bank savings. To "save" the funds, the victim is immediately provided with a contact phone number for an alleged "support service" or "financial security." When calling this number, the victim is met by another fake specialist, who paints an even darker picture: fraudsters have already gained access to accounts, and the only way to save money is to get ahead of the criminals. To do this, the citizen is strongly advised to urgently transfer all his savings to a certain "single treasury account." Scammers assure that this account is secret and secure, and scammers will not find out about it. In fact, this account belongs to the criminals themselves, and the money deposited into it disappears without a trace. In connection with the increasing cases of such fraud, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation urges citizens to observe digital hygiene and reminds them of simple safety rules. In no case should you tell unknown persons the confirmation codes received in SMS or push notifications on behalf of Gosuslug, banks and other resources. Law enforcement officers also advise to immediately interrupt the conversation if the interlocutor demands to transfer funds to "safe" or "treasury" accounts, and not to follow the instructions received from suspicious persons in messengers.