According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, attackers have developed a new scheme aimed at deceiving citizens. Criminals impersonate representatives of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation in order to imitate the official procedure for verifying accounts on the Gosuslugi portal.
The fraudulent scheme begins with sending out emails informing potential victims about the fictitious execution of a power of attorney to a third party. This is followed by a phone call from a person posing as an employee of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation, offering an immediate "technical diagnosis" of the profile on the "Gosuslugi" portal under the pretext of preventing unauthorized access.
If the user ends the conversation, the scammers activate the second phase of pressure: notifications begin to arrive en masse on the victim's smartphone via messengers, as well as calls from alleged bank employees, retailers and other organizations, which creates the effect of a real crisis and forces the person to return to the dialogue with the fraudsters.
Experts warn that official agencies never request personal data, confirmation codes, or access to a device via email. Users are advised to ignore such messages and immediately report suspicious activity to law enforcement agencies.