The Ministry of Internal Affairs has uncovered a new scam targeting dacha owners: fraudsters trick victims into revealing an SMS code under the guise of expedited meter verification, then steal all their savings. TASS reported this, citing departmental materials.
The perpetrator calls, posing as an employee of an energy supply company, and demands access to the apartment for scheduled verification. Upon hearing that the owner is at their dacha, they offer to submit an application online and receive a code via SMS. After the victim dictates the numbers, an accomplice steps in: a fake Rosfinmonitoring employee reports a hack of "Gosuslugi" and the issuance of a power of attorney to terrorists. Then, an "FSB officer" convinces the victim to withdraw all savings and transfer them to a supposedly safe account.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs advised never to disclose codes from messages and reminded that banks and law enforcement agencies do not request such information over the phone. The scheme preys on seasonal vulnerability: in summer, dacha owners are less often in the city and are more willing to agree to remote procedures to avoid leaving their homes unattended.