Russians named common types of fraud

One in five Russians (21%) has faced deception in the digital space, and 13% of respondents have become victims of scams in real life, offline. Half of the respondents (50%) fell for the tricks of intruders both on and off the Internet. This is stated in the results of the study of the service "Work.<url>", which were reviewed by Izvestia on April 2. Experts have learned about common types of fraud.

At the same time, 16% of the survey participants have never experienced fraud either online or offline.

"The vast majority of respondents who faced fraud outside the Internet (92%) pointed to phone scams as the main type of deception. Almost half of the respondents (49%) had dealt with network marketing, including pyramid schemes and dubious wealth schemes. One in five respondents (21%) has encountered fake charities. 10% of respondents mentioned free SIM cards as a fraud tool," the study says.

At the same time, 7% of Russians were affected by skimmer devices installed on ATMs or payment terminals.

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Speaking about fraud on the Internet, more than half of the respondents (58%) have encountered phishing — fake websites, emails and payment links. At the same time, 40% of respondents suffered from social engineering, a deception method based on manipulation and persuasion to disclose personal information. In addition, 38% of the respondents faced fraud when looking for a job, having come across false vacancies or unscrupulous employers, and 35% dealt with network marketing in the online space.

Cyber theft, including the theft of accounts, passwords and other confidential data, affected 31% of respondents. Fake online stores offering non-existent goods or services deceived 22%. Fraud in the field of cryptocurrencies and investments, which is gaining momentum in the digital world, affected 18% of respondents.

"Under the guise of real work, fraudsters in 60% of cases offered to participate in financial pyramids and illegal enrichment schemes, luring them with promises of quick earnings. Almost as many respondents (59%) faced offers to take paid courses or trainings that guarantee subsequent employment, which never came. A third of the respondents (32%) reported payment requirements for employment in the company, as many (32%) fraudsters offered jobs related to illegal activities," the experts said.

Earlier, on March 12, it was reported that in 2024, Russians most often encountered fraudulent calls allegedly on behalf of bank security services. This was stated by 22.4% of respondents, according to the results of a survey conducted by RED Security. In addition, the attackers pretended to be representatives of telecom operators (21.7%) and law enforcement agencies (13.8%).