Cybercriminals have created over 300 phishing websites promising Russians "holiday dividends from oil and gas sales" in honor of National Unity Day, according to F6, a cybersecurity company.
The criminals are reporting "dividend" payments to all Russian citizens in the amount of 75,000 rubles, which should be credited by November 4. The fake messages are accompanied by testimonials from alleged users who have received the money. Visitors are invited to calculate the estimated amount of "dividends" by filling out a form where they need to specify their age, name, surname, and phone number.
Experts note that this is a standard investment fraud scheme: as soon as the victim leaves their data, they receive a call from a fraudster who persuades them to invest money to increase capital. As a result, instead of the expected income, the user loses all funds.
Anastasia Mamynova, a leading analyst in the second line CERT department of Digital Risk Protection, explained that fraudsters previously used a similar scheme timed to coincide with Maslenitsa. Now they have adapted it to National Unity Day, combining traditional tricks with new approaches.
