Scammers have started sending out fake sweepstakes en masse on behalf of marketplaces

Attackers actively use the name of popular marketplaces to deceive users. In May 2025, Mail blocked a record 15 million fraudulent emails disguised as prize draws from well-known trading platforms. Dmitry Moryakov, head of the Mail spam analysis team, told Izvestia on June 3 how not to fall for the fraudsters' trick.

According to him, letters with offers to win large sums of money or valuable gifts have become leaders in spam mailings. The specialists managed not only to block all such messages, but also to close more than 3 thousand domains used by fraudsters. These measures resulted in a 40 percent reduction in user spam complaints.

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The attackers offer to confirm the right to a scholarship through Gosuslugi, take a test for graduates and confirm their qualifications.

"Under the guise of well-known marketplaces, the attackers sent letters with links to receive a prize in the form of two or three hundred thousand rubles and other expensive gifts. The letters contained links leading to phishing sites, where the recipients were required to pay a commission — the funds were transferred to individual accounts," the Mail explained.

In addition, fraudsters are constantly improving their deception methods, but the service's security systems are also getting smarter — machine learning algorithms are being updated daily, which creates serious obstacles for cybercriminals.

The mail service reminded users of the basic security rules: always check the sender's address, do not follow questionable links, and do not disclose bank card details to anyone. If you receive suspicious emails, we recommend that you report them immediately through the special tools of the service.

Earlier, on May 15, it was reported that 97% of Russians surveyed had experienced cyberbullying over the past year. At the same time, the most common type of fraud is telephone: four out of five Russians (79%) have received such calls over the past 12 months.