Ministry of Internal Affairs: Scammers call home phones, pretending to be Rostelecom.
Criminals are now employing a new tactic by calling home phone numbers across Russia, impersonating employees from the telecommunications company Rostelecom. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) has issued a warning about this latest fraudulent scheme through its Telegram channel, `Herald of the Russian Cyberpolice`.
The scam artists inform their potential victims that their communication service contract requires urgent renewal and subsequently request a verification code sent via SMS to their mobile phone. By tricking individuals into divulging this code, the fraudsters are able to gain unauthorized access to the victim`s online accounts.
Following this initial contact, the targeted person often receives a second call from someone claiming to be a representative of law enforcement or the Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring). This caller falsely states that the victim`s account is being used for unspecified illegal transactions. The criminals then escalate their demands, instructing the victim to hand over money to a courier, who is also part of the elaborate scam.
Data released earlier indicated a particular day of the week when such fraudulent activities are most prevalent. According to information from Sberbank, criminals tend to make these types of calls more frequently on Tuesdays compared to other days.
