VTB has warned of a new fraud scheme in which attackers pose as school psychologists. Their goal is to gain access to parents' personal data and bank details.
The criminals call parents, introducing themselves as employees of educational institutions, and under the pretext of "mandatory testing" or "drawing up a character reference" for certification, ask them to provide confidential information. Various tricks are used: requesting passport data, SNILS, or even installing a "test application," which is actually malware. The information obtained is then used to access bank accounts or apply for loans.
How scammers work:
- Imitation of trust – the caller introduces themselves as a psychologist, refers to the school and "official requirements."
- Psychological pressure – they claim that the data is needed "urgently," otherwise it will affect the child's academic performance.
- Phishing and malware – they may offer to download a "test program" that steals logins and passwords.
In the future, this information can be used to gain access to personal accounts on government portals or banking applications. For example, in social engineering scenarios, attackers may call on behalf of the bank and ask to confirm a transaction or apply for a loan in the parents' name.
Cybersecurity experts recommend not giving out personal information over the phone, even if the caller introduces themselves as a school employee. It is important to always double-check the information by calling the educational institution at its official numbers. Experts also warn against installing unknown applications at the request of third parties, as this may lead to leakage of confidential data.
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