With the start of the university admissions season, fraudsters have become more active. According to the Telegram channel Mash, a new deceptive scheme is now targeting applicants.
Scammers are obtaining phone numbers and other personal data, including SNILS (insurance number) and TIN (taxpayer ID), from data leaks. They then call applicants, posing as members of the university admissions committee. During the call, they claim to have found an error in the application, a certificate, or state that the school leaving certificate has been lost. To urgently “correct” this data, fraudsters ask the applicant to schedule an appointment and then send an SMS code. This digital combination, however, is used to gain access to the victim`s personal account on the “Gosuslugi” (State Services) portal.
Subsequently, the applicant might receive an email notifying them of account blockage on the portal. A fake support service then transfers the call to a supposed “operative” or representative of a “law enforcement agency.” This individual contacts the victim via video call, insisting on immediate action to thwart the real fraudsters who allegedly hacked the account. The victim is then pressured to take out the maximum possible loan, with explanations like needing to “reset their rating” or similar absurd reasons, and to transfer the funds to the scammers` “safe account.”
This is not the only recent scheme reported: previously, there were accounts of fraudsters persuading victims to hide cash savings in mailboxes under the guise of “protecting” their money. Shortly after, accomplices of the fraudsters would retrieve the cash from the designated location.
Clement Ashworth 
Barnaby Whitfield