- Статьи
- Internet and technology
- Collective moment: how scammers use the topic of preparing for school
Collective moment: how scammers use the topic of preparing for school
Fraudsters can use the topic of preparing children for school to deceive Russians, experts have warned about this. The attackers are attracted by the fact that on the eve of September 1, parents are ready to spend money and actively buy both goods and services. At the same time, scammers rarely come up with fundamentally new ways of cheating, more often they use already proven schemes. For more information about what tricks to expect from scammers in 2026 on preparing for school, how dangerous they are and how to protect yourself from them, read the Izvestia article.
What is the topic of school preparation interesting to scammers?
Scammers may be interested in preparing children for school, since during this period parents are ready to spend money and actively buy both goods and services, Dmitry Galov, head of Kaspersky GReAT in Russia, says in an interview with Izvestia. According to the expert, scammers rarely come up with fundamentally new ways of cheating, more often they use already proven schemes.
"Preparing for school is an ideal trigger for lulling vigilance," says the Deputy Head of the Audit and Compliance Department at the Ural Center for Security Systems (UCSB). Ksenia Kuznetsova. — During this period, parents' attention is completely absorbed in buying expensive equipment, updating furniture in the children's room and searching for educational materials and office.
The focus shifts to household chores, and people stop thinking about potential cyber threats, the expert says. An additional vulnerability factor is the chaos in communications before the start of the school year: schools and classrooms are massively creating new messenger chats. The parents in them do not yet know each other personally, they do not remember names and faces, so the appearance of a new participant with an urgent collection of money does not arouse suspicion. The atmosphere of the general organizational process creates a false sense of security, which is actively exploited by fraudsters.
What school preparation schemes can we expect in 2026
In 2026, MTS Defender experts predict an increase in the number of calls on behalf of "teachers" or "school administrators" asking them to confirm a child's account with an SMS code in order to gain access to the Gosuslugi portal. In addition, we should expect the appearance of websites that mimic the work of stores with school supplies and gadgets — with prices below the market and a mandatory 100% prepayment.
—Scammers will also use the chats of school parents even more actively in order to collect money on behalf of the "parent committee" allegedly for the needs of the school or publish phishing links to fake goods and exam preparation courses," experts say.
In turn, Maxim Fedosenko, a leading engineer and analyst at the Gazinformservice Cybersecurity Analytical Center, suggests that this year fraudulent schemes will focus on targeted phishing, concentrated inside parent chats in messengers and forums. At the same time, attackers can start using deepfakes to compromise the chairmen of parent committees and teachers in order to initiate fundraising for the organized purchase of textbooks or uniforms. In addition, according to the source, there may be an increase in the activity of fake services for "checking and processing school payments from the state," the main purpose of which is to intercept sessions and access to "Public Services" and banking applications.
— By the beginning of the academic year, intruders can offer school supplies at favorable prices, additional payments to families for preparation for September 1, enrollment in clubs and other services related to preparation for studies, — adds Dmitry Galov. — Phishing mailings may come ostensibly on behalf of schools with a request to confirm the student's or parent's details, pay for meals in advance, or book a place for additional classes.
What schemes have you encountered before on the topic of preparing for school?
Meanwhile, online scammers have been trying to speculate on the topic of preparing children for school for several years. One of the main schemes encountered earlier is the distribution of links to non—existent payments by September 1, Anastasia Patrusheva, a specialist in the cyber intelligence department of Bastion, said in an interview with Izvestia. On the fake page, parents were asked to provide card or bank account information, and were also urged to pay a small "commission" or "tax."
— There were also scenarios with fake online stores of school uniforms, backpacks, textbooks and electronics, - says the expert. — The attackers attracted people with a large discount and a limited promotion period, and after payment they did not deliver the goods or stole payment data.
In addition, according to her, the attackers infiltrated parental chats and announced an illegitimate collection of money for repairs, security, gifts to the teacher or an excursion. In other cases, they introduced themselves as the principal, homeroom teacher, or technical support for the electronic diary and asked for a code to access the service. This could lead to the compromise of related accounts or, for example, to confirm a banking transaction.
According to Ksenia Kuznetsova, parents, grandparents are at risk, especially from large, low-income families or single mothers. Constant financial stress, the stress of having to get a child ready for school, and the fear of not being on time provoke people to get involved in fraudulent schemes without proper verification. A separate category is teachers and school administrators.
"Scammers hack into their messenger accounts and send out fundraising requests on their behalf," the expert says. — Teachers themselves are in emergency mode on the eve of September 1 and may not immediately notice a break-in, and parents are accustomed to trust official messages from teachers.
The consequences, in the case of a successful compromise, are not limited to the loss of a single sum of money, warns Anastasia Patrusheva. Through a phishing page, attackers can gain access to a bank, government services, email, and family accounts, including on social media, in order to use them to attack other victims.
How to protect yourself from school preparation schemes
In order to protect themselves from fraudulent schemes on the topic of preparing for the academic year, experts interviewed by Izvestia advise following certain safety rules. Parents of schoolchildren should be especially careful before starting their studies, says Maria Sinitsyna, senior analyst at the Digital Risk Protection Department at F6.
— Do not enter your personal data, usernames, passwords, SMS confirmation codes on questionable resources or sites that you are using for the first time, — the expert advises. — Before going to unfamiliar sites, check the date of domain registration through whois services. If it was registered less than a year ago, it is most likely that they are scammers.
It is important to verify the accuracy of information provided by phone, in official sources, recommends Maria Sinitsyna. You should not go to sites that you have not used before, on the recommendation or at the request of strangers, and in any unclear situation, before taking any action, you need to consult with those whom you trust.
If a teacher or head teacher has written with a request to transfer money, it is better to call him back personally using the number that is already in the contacts, rather than the one from which the message was received, adds Irina Zinovkina, head of analytical research at Positive Technologies. It is important never to follow links from parent chats if they lead to a payment. Real schools do not collect money through anonymous payment forms and do not require you to enter your card details to receive payments.
—Two-factor authentication and a modern security solution will provide an additional level of protection, which will be able to warn about access to a phishing site, detect malicious files and block other common online threats," concludes Dmitry Galov.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
