The Power of Ignorance: how scammers deceive self-employed Russians
Fraudsters can use various schemes to deceive self—employed Russians, experts have warned about this. The attackers are looking for potential victims who are poorly informed about the legal and technical issues related to self-employment, and are trying to use these gaps to further deceive. For details on how fraudsters deceive self-employed Russians, how dangerous such schemes are and how to protect yourself from them, read the Izvestia article.
Why are self-employed Russians interesting to scammers?
The self—employed are one of the many categories of citizens under which criminals come up with thematic scenarios of deception, one way or another related to the status of a taxpayer, says Evgeny Egorov, a leading analyst at the Digital Risk Protection department of F6, in an interview with Izvestia. Attackers can develop targeted attack scenarios for them, knowing the "pains" and interests of this category.
"Self—employed Russians are of interest to fraudsters because they sometimes have little awareness of legal and technical issues," says Maxim Alexandrov, an expert in Security Code software products. — Attackers rely on their ignorance of the rules and nuances of their activities, which makes people vulnerable to deception.
The self-employed do not have accountants or lawyers on staff, they process incoming payments and pay taxes on their own, says Yakov Filevsky, an expert on sociotechnical testing at Angara Security. He notes that when one person has to do everything at once, it creates a fertile ground for deception. In addition, many self-employed people work remotely, receiving income from unknown clients, communicate via messengers or interact through marketplaces and may not even see their clients in person.
"Self—employment, despite its advantages as a convenient tool for self—employment, is becoming another reason for intruders who use it for their own purposes, targeting a wide audience rather than specific professions," Maxim Alexandrov emphasizes.
What self-employment schemes should we expect in 2025?
In 2025, we can expect improved and more sophisticated fraud schemes aimed at self-employed Russians, Marina Probets, an Internet analyst and expert at Gazinformservice, says in an interview with Izvestia. According to the expert, in particular, we can talk about phishing attacks that mimic requests from the tax inspectorate or payment systems in order to gain access to bank card data or accounts.
— It is also likely that fake job offers or lucrative contracts will be distributed, leading to extortion of money under the pretext of paying taxes, insurance or "guarantee fees," the expert says.
In addition, according to Marina Probets, there may be schemes related to forgery of documents confirming self-employment, or using vulnerabilities in applications for working with the self-employed. In addition, we can expect an increase in the number of fraudulent tax optimization proposals, which can actually lead to serious financial and legal problems.
In turn, Maxim Alexandrov adds that in 2025, the number of fake online platforms and services offering "simplification" of the process of self-employment registration or "optimization" of taxes for a fee is expected to increase. It is also possible to create false courses and seminars that promise quick income. In addition, it is possible that proposals for fake grants and subsidies aimed at supporting the self-employed may appear, which may lead to monetary losses and legal problems for those affected.
"It is also possible that schemes may appear in which attackers impersonate employees of tax institutions and offer victims to transfer money under various pretexts, such as confirming income or transferring unpaid taxes,— notes Evgeny Egorov.
What schemes have you encountered before against self-employed Russians?
One of the most common fraud schemes aimed at the self-employed was previously telephone deception under the guise of employees of the Federal Tax Service (FTS), Maxim Alexandrov says in an interview with Izvestia. The attackers called taxpayers and stated that funds had been found in their bank accounts that were not taken into account when calculating the tax on professional income.
"The criminals offered to verify payments based on the allegedly sent statement, but it was not actually in the My Taxes application or in the personal account on the FTS website," the expert says. — Under the pretext of restoring the services, the scammers asked to dictate the SMS code.
Having gained access to a personal account at Gosuslugi, the attackers could issue microloans on behalf of the taxpayer. The scheme was based on ignorance that real employees of the Federal Tax Service never call on the phone and do not ask for confirmation codes. This scheme remains relevant today, Maxim Alexandrov notes.
In addition, phishing emails disguised as notifications from the tax service about the urgent need to pay taxes or fines were previously common fraud schemes against the self-employed, adds Marina Probets. There were also offers of "assistance" in registering self-employment or optimizing taxes, for which, as a result, prepayment or hidden payments were required.
"There have been cases of fraud using fake websites that mimic official resources for the self—employed, where victims left their personal data and banking details," the expert notes. — In addition, cases of extortion of money were recorded under the threat of "denunciation" to the tax authorities about violations in the conduct of business. Some scammers offered fictitious orders, after which they did not pay money.
How to protect yourself from fraudulent schemes on the topic of self-employment?
Fraud schemes related to self-employment are aimed at the self-employed citizens of Russia and those who plan to become them, says Marina Probets. The danger of such schemes lies in financial losses (loss of money in bank accounts, payment for fictitious services), legal problems (charges of tax evasion, administrative fines), as well as leakage of personal data that can be used for further fraudulent activities.
— In the worst case, fraud can lead to a complete loss of business and serious reputational costs, — emphasizes the interlocutor of Izvestia.
In addition to attacks on the self-employed themselves, cybercriminals can target their relatives and friends, adds Roman Reznikov, an analyst at the Positive Technologies research group. Having collected a small amount of information to add details to the "legend", attackers can call the relatives of the self-employed and inform them of the urgent need to solve the problem, while fraudsters can pretend to be both government employees and the self-employed using a deepfake.
In order to protect yourself from fraudulent schemes, Roman Reznikov advises checking and rechecking any information, trusting only official resources, and also remember that passwords and SMS codes should not be passed on to anyone, even if the interlocutor introduces himself as an employee of government services.
— Never click on links from suspicious messages and do not enter personal information on questionable sites, — Maxim Alexandrov advises. — Taxes must be paid only through official services such as My Taxes.
According to the expert, it is also important to always check notifications from the Federal Tax Service and banks and, if necessary, call official numbers, rather than relying on information from SMS or e-mail. Finally, before trusting any platform or course, it is important to evaluate their reputation: look for reviews and information about the company online. Following these recommendations, you can significantly reduce the risk of becoming a victim of fraud and protect yourself from financial loss, Maxim Alexandrov concludes.
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