- Статьи
- Internet and technology
- Laughing stock tours: how scammers speculate on assistance in obtaining international passports
Laughing stock tours: how scammers speculate on assistance in obtaining international passports
Fraudsters can use various schemes on the topic of assistance in obtaining passports, experts said. Attackers are taking advantage of the growing demand for documents due to the approaching holiday season, as well as the widespread online filing format, which reduces the vigilance of potential victims. For more information about how fraudsters speculate on the topic of assistance in paperwork, how dangerous such schemes are and how to protect themselves from them, read the Izvestia article.
What is the topic of passport registration interesting to fraudsters?
The topic of assistance in obtaining passports attracts intruders for several reasons at once. On the one hand, the approach of the holiday season plays a role. On the other hand, after media reports about queues and delays in issuing passports were published, fraudsters intensified attempts to compromise the very procedure for obtaining documents, Irina Dmitrieva, a cybersecurity expert and analyst at Gazinformservice, told Izvestia.
"Based on the news, the scammers created a portrait of potential victims and took advantage of the increased interest in speeding up the passport processing process," says the specialist. — The urgent need of people becomes a convenient condition for launching attacks using social engineering.
The interest of fraudsters in obtaining passports is explained, among other things, by the high value of the requested information and the complexity of submitting documents, adds Vitaly Fomin, head of the information security analyst group at the Digital Economy League. Passport data, SNILS, INN, photo, and sometimes biometrics are required for registration — this is how fraudsters can collect a whole package of data about a person. At the same time, online filing, which is now widespread, reduces the vigilance of citizens when sending documents by e-mail or through websites.
What schemes on the subject of registration of foreign passports to expect in 2026
This year, trips abroad have become more expensive and more difficult, so any promise to simplify paperwork or obtain visas will arouse interest — fraudsters will be able to play on this by offering the impossible, says Alexandra Shmigirilova, GR director of the Security Code information security company.
— Due to the unstable situation with visas and passports, it is difficult for people to navigate, — explains the interlocutor of Izvestia. — If vacation plans arise unexpectedly, and a person wants to be guaranteed to have time to complete the paperwork, they will contact those who offer such services.
At the same time, using tools based on artificial intelligence (AI), attackers create websites that are externally identical to the official ones, which makes them convincing and professional in appearance, notes Alexandra Shmigirilova. In turn, Maria Mikhailova, head of the Angara MTDR brand protection group, believes that in 2026 we should expect a continuation of telephone and online scams, in which attackers offer to issue a passport "in two or three days." Scammers can advertise their services both on social networks and on online bulletin boards.
According to Alexey Mironov, a leading specialist in the research and development department of Stakhanovets, an expert in the field of IT and AI personnel analytics, an increase in high-tech and automated attacks is possible in the coming months, including the creation of convincing phishing clone portals of Gosuslug and the use of neural networks to generate personalized emails.
"The active spread of fraudulent Telegram bots and fake mobile applications masquerading as official services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is likely," the expert predicts. — They will try to extract not only scans of documents, but also biometric data or SMS codes under the pretext of remote identity verification for expedited registration.
What schemes on the subject of registration of international passports were there before
Meanwhile, online fraudsters have been trying to speculate on the topic of assistance in obtaining passports for several years. As Leonid Bezvershenko, senior expert at Kaspersky GReAT, says in an interview with Izvestia, such schemes are often distributed through messengers and social networks: offers to "help get a passport faster" or "do it without queues" appear in thematic chat rooms and channels about travel or visas.
— Then the standard scheme unfolds: a person is offered to use an "intermediary service" and is asked to send scans of a passport, SNILS, INN, and sometimes a selfie with the document, — says the specialist. — After that, they demand a 100% prepayment allegedly for state duty and expedited registration services, and then communication with such "assistants" usually disappears.
At the same time, according to Alexandra Shmigirilova, scammers previously had to spend more effort on attracting potential victims, convincing them and gaining trust. With the development of technology, scammers have "armed themselves" with tools that do a significant part of their work for them.
Victims of fraudulent schemes on the topic of assistance in obtaining passports are most often citizens who want to obtain documents bypassing the usual process and do not have the necessary connections in government agencies, said Ashot Oganesyan, founder of the DLBI data leak intelligence and darknet monitoring service. Such people include those who urgently needed a passport, as well as those who are likely to be refused (for example, travel abroad is prohibited).
"The danger of such schemes lies in both financial and legal risks," warns Alexey Akhmeev, head of the Information security department at Svoy Bank. — At the moment, the victim loses only money, but then the stolen personal data can be used for years.
In particular, fraudsters can link the victim's passport to dubious services, issue electronic wallets, accounts and cards, loans and microloans in the name of the victim, participate in money laundering and other crimes. As a result, a person may be involved in a criminal scheme, face account blocking and the need to prove his innocence, Alexey Akhmeev notes. At the same time, the victim can accept the loss of the prepayment, calm down and then not suspect the use of their data until serious problems arise.
How to protect yourself from schemes related to passport registration
In order to protect themselves from fraud schemes on the subject of passport registration, experts interviewed by Izvestia advise following certain safety rules. Maria Mikhailova recommends checking the validity period of the documents in advance and not postponing their replacement for the last months, especially if they fall at the beginning of the holiday season. This applies to documents for both adults and children.
— Even if it seems to you that there is no time to register at the MFC to obtain a new passport, and profitable tours will soon become more expensive, you should not resort to the services of unknown persons who offer help in specialized social media groups and messengers, — the specialist warns. — Financial losses after communicating with intruders may exceed the cost of a vacation trip on peak dates.
According to Maria Mikhailova, it is possible to fill out the application form for a new passport correctly only on the Gosuslugi portal, where you can also save a draft and return to it after clarifying the information or make edits to an already prepared but not submitted document. You can also apply online and make an appointment in person through Gosuslugi. The system will offer you to select the address and time of the visit.
— Do not send scans of documents to strangers in instant messengers, and always be careful about promises to "do it in a few days" or "without queues": if the offer sounds too good to be true, most likely, this is fraud, — concludes Leonid Bezvershenko.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
