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- Payment is dangerous: the first frauds with digital ruble appeared in the Russian Federation
Payment is dangerous: the first frauds with digital ruble appeared in the Russian Federation
In Russia, the first cases of users being defrauded in connection with the topic of the digital ruble have been recorded. Among the types of fraud are phishing sites that offer to save their savings and provide consulting services on the digital ruble, spam mailings with an offer to buy it at a favorable rate, the sale of storage devices allegedly storing digital rubles, as well as telephone scams offering to transfer savings to a "safe digital account". How to protect yourself from criminals and where to get reliable information about the new form of money - in the material "Izvestia".
How scammers deceive Russians
In Runet recorded the first scams associated with the topic of the digital ruble. Already appeared schemes with the sale of physical media allegedly containing digital rubles, various types and forms of quasi-investment, phishing and other formats of deception, told "Izvestia" head of information and analytical research department of the company T. Hunter Igor Bederov.
- At the moment we see separate scam resources, where attackers use the topic of the digital ruble as a bait. For example, on one fake resource users were offered "easy earnings", thanks to it - 10 thousand rubles "already today". The fake page states that people have already received more than 500 billion rubles through the program, it also describes the benefits of digital currency. To get free access to the program, a person is asked to enter on the page name, surname, e-mail and necessarily - a valid phone number - told "Izvestia" content analyst of "Kaspersky Lab" Tatiana Shcherbakova.
By clicking the "get free access" button, a person authorizes the processing of information about himself. According to Tatiana Shcherbakova, if he agrees to the offer to become a new user of the digital ruble and leaves his data, it is likely that during a callback from the attackers he will be offered to first invest personal funds to then earn many times more. Most likely, we are talking about a classic scam scheme with fake investments. However, along with the money on such resources, a person risks compromising both personal and payment data, summarized Tatiana Scherbakova.
Fraudsters are perfecting other schemes related to the new form of currency. They "cascade" calls to people and inform them that they are preparing to exchange all cash and non-cash money for digital rubles, so it is better to transfer savings to a "safe digital account" beforehand. Pensioners may become potential victims of such a scheme, said Andrei Arsentyev, head of analytics and special projects at the InfoWatch Group's Expert Analytical Center.
- With the introduction of the digital ruble on July 1, 2025, the number of all kinds of fraudulent tricks related to it will grow, - added Andrey Arsentyev. - In the zone of special attention of cybersecurity specialists should be hacker groups that have long specialized in stealing digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Among these criminal associations are Crazy Evil, groups from the DPRK and Southeast Asia. There is now a huge interest in digital currencies in Africa, so we can assume that part of the threat will come from there.
Cybercriminals are already sending out phishing emails with the theme of the digital ruble and creating fake websites to steal money or credentials and bank data, said Roman Reznikov, an analyst at Positive Technologies research group. They can intimidate victims by allegedly burning savings stored in non-digital rubles, they can lure victims with benefits, promising high profits for those "invested" in the new currency option at an early stage, pressurize the authority of the employer, demanding to urgently open a digital account, without which the salary will not come.
- We recommend staying vigilant and double-checking information, no matter who it comes from," Roman Reznikov emphasized.
The main weapon of fraudsters - emotions, so it is better to turn to official websites, contact the bank or employer and check everything, said the expert.
Financial pyramids
- The number of attacks may increase, but so far it is easier for attackers to make money on the creation of skam-coins - a short-term financial pyramid scheme. At the same time, scammers will continue to deceive gullible citizens, urging them to follow a link to get digital rubles," Phishman CEO Alexei Gorelkin said.
You should trust information only from official portals: the website of the Central Bank and partner banks, as well as official applications. Passwords and personal data should not be given to third parties. You should not follow suspicious links, open potentially dangerous attachments, give codes to strangers, and use simple passwords without two-factor authentication, reminded Igor Bederov.
- The Bank of Russia has already reported an increase in the number of false messages about it, spread through messengers and social networks. Attackers are actively sending misleading information, supporting it with excerpts from laws that either have nothing to do with the digital ruble or are taken out of context. The main weapon of fraudsters is the illusion of benefit and imitation of the actions of government agencies," he added.
Most often, representatives of cybercrime use shadow forums to plan schemes on the topic of the digital ruble. The basis of such publications is the discussion of full control of financial transactions, said Dmitry Dudkov, F6's specialist in countering financial fraud.
What you need to know about the digital ruble
The digital ruble is a third form of money. It will be issued by the Bank of Russia in addition to the existing cash and non-cash, they can be exchanged in the equivalent of "one to one". The digital ruble will differ from non-cash in that it is stored in digital wallets in the Central Bank, not in commercial banks. However, it is assumed that access to these online wallets will be through the applications of conventional financial organizations: a person will have a side-by-side display of the usual non-cash account and an account in digital rubles.
The concept of a digital ruble in Russia began to be discussed several years ago, but now the authorities have intensified work on it. At the end of 2024, the Bank of Russia together with the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury tested operations with the digital ruble in the budget process. In addition, the State Duma is now actively discussing a bill on a single QR code, with the help of which people will be able to pay with the digital ruble at retail outlets. Because of this news, the new form of the national currency is now being especially actively discussed, and fraudsters have not missed this trend.
The digital ruble is expected to start being used in Russia from July 1, 2025 - by which time banks will have to enable their customers to make payments using this means. However, there is no talk of forcibly transferring transactions of individuals to the digital ruble.
This myth was dispelled by the Central Bank itself - Alla Bakina, Director of the National Payment System Department of the Bank of Russia, said on February 17 that rumors about the forced transfer of all budget payments and other payments to the digital ruble are not true and called them a fake. "Izvestia" sent an inquiry to the Central Bank about whether it is aware of fraudulent schemes using information about the digital ruble.
However, it is possible that the introduction of the digital ruble will be postponed again, says independent expert Andrei Barkhota. He explained: for the time being, the interest rates on savings accounts are too high, and people will simply find it unprofitable to transfer funds into digital form.
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