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- Getting an appointment: scammers started deceiving Russians under the guise of school psychologists
Getting an appointment: scammers started deceiving Russians under the guise of school psychologists
At the beginning of the school year, scammers began to deceive Russians by posing as school psychologists. They write in messengers that the child has failed the test, and then they send phishing links and extort money. Sometimes criminals go to the "second round": they accuse the family of violating the law and blackmail it. Izvestia found out how the new scheme works and how to protect against it.
Under the guise of psychologists
The scammers began to deceive Russians by posing as school psychologists. This was told to Izvestia by the head of the State Duma Committee on the Development of Civil Society, Yana Lantratova.
According to her, since the beginning of the school year, criminals have started writing to parents in messengers and informing them that the child "has not passed the mandatory psychological testing." After that, they offer to urgently "retake the test" - the link leads to a fake website that looks like the Gosuslugi portal.
- Parents are asked to enter their personal information there. They put pressure on the psyche: "If you don't, the child won't be able to learn" or "It's a secret, don't tell anyone." As soon as the data is entered, they either steal money from the card or use the information for new attacks," Lantratova said.
For example, she explained, the victim may receive a call allegedly from a bank and law enforcement agencies, start scaring him with a criminal case for data leakage, and then extort money.
According to the deputy, the State Duma is developing methods to tighten the fight against fraudsters. For example, the Fair Russia – For Truth faction proposed a draft law that would oblige telecom operators to block fraudulent calls and messages for free. In addition, it is planned to create a database of suspicious numbers for instant blocking. The project will be reviewed in the autumn session.
A kind of FakeBoss
As Alexey Korobchenko, head of the information security department at the Security Code company, explains to Izvestia, the new scheme with "psychologists" can be called one of the varieties of the FakeBoss scheme. In the "original" version, scammers create accounts in messengers, where they indicate the data of the leaders of the target group of users, for example, the CEO of a company. After that, they force employees to provide the necessary information or run errands.
–– In the presented case, the "psychologist" also acts as a person with authority, since he threatens the child's non-admission to school. In the same way, scammers can take on other guises by installing the necessary photos in messengers, for example, if they play the role of a policeman, an avatar of a man in uniform, and so on," explains Korobchenko.
According to him, such phishing remains the easiest way for scammers to get to the necessary data. Technical hacking of a service is a costly and difficult task, so it's much faster to use psychological techniques and play on a person's fears. And then he will enter on the fake website exactly the data that criminals can use for their own purposes.
–– At the same time, phishing is beneficial to fraudsters even from a legal point of view. For example, previously, if a person personally "handed over" codes and passwords from the same banking services, it was problematic to return the stolen money. Now there are anti-fraud systems plus measures in the form of "cooling off" time, when a suspicious transaction is not carried out immediately, and with such tricks there is a chance that the bank will not even recognize fraud," the Security Code expert notes.
At the same time, he adds, schemes can gain momentum quickly. With the development of AI technologies and the distribution of phishing links, and even communication with users can be automated. Accordingly, the coverage of potential victims increases significantly.
Risks of the scheme
According to lawyer Sean Betrozov, the scheme with psychologists carries many risks for Russians. Criminals create websites to collect personal data: passport, SNILS, bank card details and SMS codes. After transmitting the information, criminals can withdraw money from cards, apply for loans, or use the data for the next stages of deception.
–– After the first stage, they often move on to the second round. For example, they report that an offense has been registered due to the fault of the child or parents, or that it is necessary to pay a fine in order to "save the child from responsibility." At this stage, they use pressure and create the illusion of formality," says the lawyer.
Stressed parents are more likely to agree to transfer money to close the "issue". Sometimes scammers demand repeat payments or threaten to disclose information if the victim tries to verify the facts. And sometimes they start threatening the family with a criminal case: as if the child's parents had violated the law.
–– They can send fake resolutions, letters, notifications, or phone calls disguised as law enforcement officers. The reports claim that it is urgently necessary to comply with the requirement to "end the case." Sometimes the threats increase, and parents face blackmail," the source told Izvestia.
According to him, criminals often use psychological techniques. At the first stage, they observe how "malleable" parents are, and at the second stage, they use these observations to increase threats. Additionally, attackers can operate through several communication channels at the same time: calls, instant messengers, e-mail and social networks.
Methods of protection
According to Sean Betrozov, any fraudulent attacks are dangerous because criminals already have personal family data and can use it for repeated attacks or new extortion attempts.
–– It is important for parents to understand that real schools and authorities never require immediate payment, will not threaten children by phone or send orders by e-mail. Any pressure, especially when accompanied by threats or urgency, is a signal of fraud," the lawyer emphasizes.
To protect yourself from cybercriminals, experts urge you to maintain critical thinking. In the case of any letters, messages, or calls from "official" persons whom the user does not know personally, you need to interrupt communication and call back to the institution whose employee the interlocutor allegedly acts as.
–– In addition, it is worth remembering an important rule of cyber hygiene - do not click on unfamiliar links and do not enter sensitive information on random or sent by a stranger portals, - adds Alexey Korobchenko.
Also, he notes, it is necessary to ensure "passive" security: set privacy settings in all messengers, including prohibiting writing and calling from unfamiliar numbers, inviting to groups, and hiding the phone number from the interlocutor. The more private the account is, the less likely it is to encounter a scammer.
In turn, Dmitry Sluzhenikin, assistant to the head of the analytical center of Gazinformservice, Secretary of the Consortium for Security Research of Artificial Intelligence Technologies, advises holding literacy training events in schools, universities or colleges in the fall. In his opinion, this is only the first wave of phishing - it will be followed by others, for example, before the first student session.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
