The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) has issued a serious warning regarding a fraudulent scheme centered on the supposed resale of gift certificates, emphasizing that citizens who participate risk becoming accessories to a crime. The alert was released through the MVD’s official channel, “Herald of Russian Cyberpolice,” on Telegram.
The scheme involves cybercriminals posting advertisements in various messengers promoting simple remote work opportunities. Individuals who respond are offered a chance to earn money by reselling gift certificates online.
The MVD explained that the recruited individual is assigned the role of an intermediary. This person places the sales advertisements, collects payment from the buyer, retains a small percentage as a “commission,” and then transfers the remaining amount to a third party (the scammer).
However, the buyer ultimately receives a gift certificate that is invalid or worthless. Once the defrauded buyers demand a refund, the principal fraudsters cease all communication and disappear, according to the agency.
“As a result, the responsibility is shifted entirely onto the intermediary, who must either return the funds using their own money or face the severe risk of being treated as an accomplice to a criminal act,” the MVD stated. Following the successful execution of the scam, the fraudsters typically delete all chat history and change the names and designs of their communication channels to evade detection.
The MVD strongly urges Russian citizens to exercise extreme caution when searching for remote work and advises that gift certificates should only be purchased directly from official, recognized retail stores.
In related cybercrime news, it was previously reported that scammers have also begun aggressively targeting Russians, attempting to persuade them to “invest” their annual bonuses by promising unrealistically high returns, as noted by legal expert Ivan Kurbakov.
Clement Ashworth 
Barnaby Whitfield