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- Losing hundreds of thousands: how scammers cheat Russians with tickets to "The Nutcracker" and the Kremlin Christmas tree
Losing hundreds of thousands: how scammers cheat Russians with tickets to "The Nutcracker" and the Kremlin Christmas tree
Fraudsters have started to deceive Russians by offering cheap tickets to the Nutcracker and the Kremlin Christmas tree. Experts every day fix more than 200 fake sites where it is supposedly possible to buy invitations or even win them. "Izvestia" found out what schemes are used by criminals this year and how to protect yourself from them.
A ticket to the ballet
Fraudsters have begun to deceive Russians, offering tickets to the "Nutcracker" at a favorable price. This was told to "Izvestia" by Dmitry Ovchinnikov, head of the Laboratory of strategic development of cybersecurity products of the Analytical Center "Gazinformservice".
Criminals "sell" tickets to the Bolshoi Theater in social networks and messengers. They claim they can get invitations at a reduced price thanks to their connections in the theater. But they disappear after they receive the money.
A 28-year-old resident of Pushkino has already suffered from a similar scheme. According to REN TV, she "bought" from an unknown person tickets for 280 thousand rubles. The man promised to send the tickets in three days, but never got in touch. "Then she turned to the police for help, there they are conducting a check on the fact of what happened," - said the source.
In the platform "Moshelovka" "Izvestia" explained to "Izvestia" that such a scheme is fixed every year. Fraudsters not only offer tickets in messengers, but also create fake sites to sell them.
- The number of such sites selling tickets for "The Nutcracker" and the Kremlin Christmas tree has tripled compared to last year. We record more than 200 new fraudulent resources, channels and accounts every day, - said the coordinator of the platform Evgenia Lazareva.
Losing lottery
The scheme with tickets to the Kremlin Christmas tree is also common among fraudsters. This year, says Dmitry Ovchinnikov, they actively conduct "raffles" of tickets in messengers or "sell" them at a reduced price.
- Fraudsters create phishing sites that are full copies of the original ones. Nowadays, this does not require any special technical knowledge and can be done literally in a matter of minutes. Next, they send letters with a link - when visiting, they ask to enter a prepayment or authenticate by phone number. And then they steal payment data or take away the account in messengers," says the Izvestia interlocutor.
Ruslan Bisengaliyev, an analyst-researcher of cybersecurity threats at R-Vision, explains that fraudsters often choose for their frauds areas where there are many people willing to participate. Therefore, it is important to be careful when you notice offers of free tickets to theaters, shows or skating rinks. It happens that criminals even send a document with a code, but it turns out to be fake, and a person learns about it only after arriving at the event. As a result, he loses money and time, and spoils the mood of himself and his family.
The peak of fraudsters' activity
According to Ruslan Bisengaliyev, fraudsters usually become active between November and the end of the holidays - first they take advantage of the sales period, and then switch to New Year's shopping and entertainment. In their activities, criminals use social engineering techniques.
- They seek to operate at a time when people are interested in bargain shopping or purchasing tickets to shows, especially if the tickets sell out quickly. In such cases, fraudsters play on people's desire to buy the right thing as soon as possible and lure them into their trap," says the expert.
Among other "New Year" legends that are often used by criminals, Bisengaliyev names a scheme to sell live Christmas trees. A couple of weeks before the New Year, fraudsters create fake websites where they offer to buy a real fir tree with delivery at favorable prices.
- This scheme is actively used in social networks. In various groups, links are distributed, allegedly leading to a site where people bought a Christmas tree. But the links may be infected or lead to a fake resource - this will lead to data leakage and loss of money," Bisengaliyev said.
Also by New Year's Eve, many fake sites appear on the Web, copying popular services for selling airline tickets or renting housing. And finally, fraudsters can hold drawings of discount coupons and prizes from marketplaces and online stores - before taking part, you should make sure that the action is official (check on the website or in the Telegram channel of the store), advises Dmitry Ovchinnikov.
Ways of defense
In order to protect themselves from criminals, Izvestia experts recommend not to buy invitations from unknown people on the Web (even if they are sent - there is no way to check the authenticity) and not to participate in dubious drawings. It is better to buy tickets only on official websites or at a regular box office. The latter option will be the best for older people who are not well versed in cybersecurity issues.
- Fraudsters have learned to copy the design of websites down to the smallest details - you can distinguish a fake only by the address bar. That's why it's better not to follow links sent by strangers to your e-mail or messenger, " says Dmitry Ovchinnikov.
In the case of buying a ticket from a new, unverified resource, it is worth reading reviews and check if there are no complaints of fraud. Another marker signaling danger is an unreasonably low price for a ticket. It should not differ greatly from the cost indicated on the official website or other resources.
It is also important to know that, in addition to stealing money, some platforms can steal personal information. For example, fraudsters write that "there are temporarily no tickets" and ask to leave data (full name, phone number or contacts in messengers) to inform in case of their appearance. Later this data is used for a new attack on the victim, adds Evgenia Lazareva.
- Do not forget that if the official seller announces the full sale of all tickets or rooms, then attempts to buy them back or get a reserve seat from someone else's "stash" always end up as either fraud or speculation. Therefore, you should not spoil your holidays, it is better to find another way to celebrate the New Year and make your loved ones happy, - concludes the coordinator of "Moshelovka".
