Teach a Man to Phish

“Don't believe it, don't click it, don't pay!”

– Sergey Volodkhin, director of the Russian company “Antiphishing”

Russian citizens are currently being tempted with a tantalizing online money raffling scheme. On August 16, Volodkhin explained the mechanics of the “new” scam that allegedly takes place on instant messengers that uses greed as psychological bait.

“This scheme of deception can hardly be called new, because all the characteristic elements are traced in it: the appeal of unprecedented generosity in the form of gift-giving, a small commission compared to the amount of the prize, and an additional condition for receiving money - entering the full payment data of the card.”

Volodkhin explains that there is a catch even for those who are skeptical of the prize. How many of us are immune to a little “what if” thinking?

After engaging with a message, a user is directed to a phishing site, where a prize for the “messenger promotion” is listed as one million dollars. The victim is allowed to choose any application to find out the size of the prize, which ranges from 10 to 5000 dollars. The next step is to a chat with the “administrator,” where he learns that he is one of 100 “happy” users who is eligible for several thousand dollars of additional prizes. The "bank operator" then warns that the transfer of currency between residents within the country is prohibited, and the winnings must be converted into rubles and the victim must pay a small commission of several hundred rubles. He is then asked for all sensitive information on his bank card, which can also be used to withdraw all money from the victim’s account.

Be careful – with the onslaught of coronavirus QR code requirements, you might be subjected to other, more subtle scams, too...