Holiday bottom: experts named the top 5 fraudulent schemes for the New Year
The top 5 New Year deception schemes include fake tickets, fake raffles, discounts, fictitious services (for example, Santa Claus) and pseudo changes in rules and legislation, under the pretext of which data and money are swindled from citizens. This was reported to Izvestia by cybersecurity experts. Such schemes are used year after year, but now fraudsters have begun to apply artificial intelligence to increase trust and "efficiency" of deception. How to protect yourself and loved ones during the holidays - in the material "Izvestia".
Schemes of deception before the New Year
One of the most common fraud schemes in anticipation of 2025 were fake prizes and gifts, told "Izvestia" in the cybersecurity company Zecurion. Attackers organize both paid drawings (to participate in which you need to deposit some amount) and free drawings - in which citizens are tricked out of their bank card details, allegedly to transfer the prize later. Among other things, criminals use neural networks, audio and video dipfakes to attract attention - for example, they pretend that the contest is advertised by celebrities.
- Scammers do adapt mailings about any "winnings" related to the New Year to fit the theme of the New Year holidays. To get the prize it is suggested to follow the link, enter all the card details or pay a "commission" or "tax" on the "winnings" - listed in the bank "Novikom".
Another scheme - with fake tickets to performances and events, Christmas trees, plays, ballet, said in Zecurion. People pay money on phishing sites, but in the end cannot get to the event.
Participation in New Year's Eve lotteries and gift drawings, where to "get the prize" it is required to make a small prepayment or provide card data, was named one of the most used this year's deception scenarios in MTS Bank. They also confirmed that fake tickets to New Year's events, shows and concerts at low prices are among the most widespread schemes this year. This type of fraud is especially gaining momentum, as there is excitement around many events, primarily around the ballet "Nutcracker" at the Bolshoi Theater.
The top schemes this year also include fictitious pre-holiday discounts, promotions and sales, Zecurion listed. Attackers place offers of non-existent goods on fake resources, payment requires entering a bank card number and confirmation code, after which criminals gain access to a personal account.
Now is a good time to buy gifts - in such an environment, customers often lose vigilance, agreed in Post Bank. Offers to buy hot tours also fit into this scenario, MTS Bank added.
Also this year, fraudsters have begun to use the scheme with fake services - it is mainly about holding holidays and entertaining children, ordering Santa Clauses, Snow Maidens and superheroes, noted in Zecurion. However, there may be other services in demand, such as apartment cleaning, garbage removal, and repair of household appliances. Fraudsters take an advance payment, arguing that there is a high demand, and otherwise refuse to fulfill the order.
- After receiving money, attackers will continue to stay in touch, reassuring and collecting new orders. May also ask to leave feedback on the work in advance, promising a discount. Most often then they disappear and stop contacting just before the event they agreed on," the company explained.
Finally, also in the top 5 is a scheme with pseudo changes in legislation: fraudsters inform gullible people about allegedly new laws, payment procedures, expiration of any documents. And then demand that the victim do something immediately, "before it's too late": under this pretext, they extort personal and financial data.
According to Post Bank, on the eve of the New Year, fraudsters do have an additional incentive to control the "attention" of the client - by January 1, they connect with the period of payment of taxes, updating data on "Gosuslugi", PFR and other departmental portals, confirmed in the credit organization.
In addition, even in the New Year holidays, attackers will continue to apply standard schemes, such as calls allegedly from the credit organization, as well as hacking people's accounts in messengers and the subsequent fan mailing of messages on their behalf, added in PSB.
How to protect yourself from fraudsters
- This year's fraud scenarios are typical for many holidays and will remain popular in the coming year. The peculiarity of today's situation is that attackers are actively using artificial intelligence. For example, they use it to create dipfakes or phishing sites, which makes the schemes more credible," explained Vladimir Ulyanov, head of the analytical center at Zecurion.
Behind the large volume of holiday information, people often find it difficult to detect deception - fraudsters are becoming more and more inventive every year and competently mimic the representatives of the original brands, said Nikita Kotikov, offensive security expert at CICADA8. He agreed: the widespread use of artificial intelligence technologies significantly complicates the situation - the ability to generate audio and video in real time allows them to maximize the level of trust from their victims.
Therules for protecting yourself and your loved ones from such frauds remain simple: the main key to safety is attentiveness and awareness, MTS Bank noted.
- One should be careful when dealing with suspicious messages and requests for information on the Web. When making incoming calls, even if the number is the same as the official one, personal data or codes from SMS should not be given. For verification, it is better to call back to the organization yourself, - listed there.
The credit organization added that you can also put an anti-virus application and set up notifications from the bank about debits to control any presence of unauthorized transactions.
