We are sending you a newsletter: scammers have become more likely to force young people to work for them as couriers

Fraudsters have increasingly begun to involve young people in criminal schemes, threatening them into acting as couriers. According to a source in Izvestia, in just one week in September 2025, several criminal cases were initiated in Moscow against teenagers who took cash from victims of scams and transferred it to crypto wallets. At the same time, they were "recruited" using an individual approach. So, in order to get personal data and a code from the "State Services" from a 19-year-old young man, they introduced themselves to him as employees of the military enlistment office, and the injured girl received a call on her birthday, allegedly from a flower delivery. How scammers find unwitting helpers and what it threatens teenagers — in the material of Izvestia.

How scammers deceive young people

The attackers have stepped up the "recruitment" of young people to do the work of couriers. Deceived teenagers take money from the victims of criminals and transfer it further along the fraudulent chain — for example, they transfer it to crypto wallets. Izvestia found out the details of several similar cases initiated in September 2025.

Thus, a resident of Sochi became a defendant in a criminal case under the article on fraud committed by an organized group or on an especially large scale. As indicated in the case file, 19-year-old Alexei (name changed) received a call in a messenger from a man who introduced himself as an employee of the military enlistment office.

"The caller said that I needed to register on the website of the Ministry of Defense to receive an electronic summons. During the conversation, messages with confirmation codes began to arrive on my phone, one of which I called the caller. He said to someone, "Punch it." After that, the connection was immediately interrupted," follows from the testimony of the young man.

Then Alexey received a notification from Gosuslug with information about logging into his personal account, and the man called the support service at the number indicated in the message. The girl who answered him explained that the young man's account had been hacked, and referred Alexey to a "financial transfer officer." That's how he found out that a power of attorney had allegedly been issued on his behalf to a citizen recognized as a terrorist in Russia.

"I received a video call from a man who introduced himself as an FSB officer. He showed his ID, and the office where he was located was very similar to the office of a law enforcement officer. I trusted him and continued to communicate," the case file says.

The scammers told a Sochi resident that law enforcement agencies suspected him of being linked to a terrorist. To prove his innocence, he must "become a secret employee of the special services, namely, work as a courier." Then Alexey was persuaded to come to Moscow and bought him an air ticket.

According to the Izvestia source, the young man took cash from people unknown to him and transferred them to a specially created crypto wallet. For each of these "courier deliveries" Alexey received 5-10 thousand rubles. As a result, he was detained by the police.

A similar criminal case, according to the source, was initiated against Svetlana, a resident of Moscow (name changed). On her birthday, she received an SMS notification allegedly from a courier asking her to "confirm the delivery of flowers with a message code."

— Because of the festive fuss, the girl did not notice that this was the code from the Gosuslug personal account. Of course, no bouquet came to her. After the girl sent the code, the scammers started calling her from different numbers. The Muscovite celebrated her birthday in the company, joked and did not attach much importance to what was happening," the source told Izvestia.

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According to the source, the scammers then created a "Gosuslug" mirror site and uploaded a fake power of attorney there, allegedly issued on behalf of Svetlana, to a citizen recognized in Russia as a foreign agent. Then a pseudo-employee of the special services contacted the Muscovite and said that she was "suspected of collaborating with extremist organizations."

— The girl was in a state of shock, she started making excuses. The scammers told her: in order for us to believe you, you must complete the task. They "processed" her for a very long time, did not let her put down the phone, intimidated her, forbade her to tell any of her relatives and friends about it," a source familiar with the situation explained.

The cybercriminals convinced the girl that she should take the "documents" from the pensioner and take them to the specified place. As it turned out later, the sealed package actually contained money — more than 1 million rubles. A criminal case has now been opened against Svetlana under the article on fraud.

In just ten days, from the end of June to the beginning of July 2025, more than 120 couriers working for fraudsters were detained in the country, the Telegram channel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation noted. As specified in the department, the victims of scams were Russians from 17 to 25 years old.

In September 2025, similar cases were reported, in particular, in the Saratov, Novosibirsk, Samara, Leningrad, Moscow, Bryansk regions, Karelia, Altai Territory and Primorye. In the summer of 2025, two students from St. Petersburg took almost 3 million rubles from a pensioner on the instructions of intruders posing as government officials. A month earlier, a similar case occurred in Yekaterinburg — scammers recruited a girl, offering her a part-time job.

In May, a resident of the Moscow region was detained, who "helped" cybercriminals commit a scam worth 4 million rubles. In March 2025, a teenager and a 20-year-old young man were put on trial in Smolensk. And in January, the police arrested a 17-year-old resident of Tver who worked as a courier for telephone fraudsters.

What is the penalty for scammers' couriers?

Throughout Russia, there is a steady increase in the number of criminal cases where young people act as so-called drops or financial couriers, confirmed Albert Khaleyan, a criminal lawyer and partner at the Vector Prime Moscow Bar Association.

"Court decisions in such cases depend on the amount of damage caused, the role of a particular person and his actions after detention — whether he turned himself in, whether he helped solve the crime, whether he compensated the damage," the expert noted. — If it is proved that the person acted solely under the influence of deception and a real threat, did not receive financial benefits and realized his guilt, there is a high probability that he will be given a suspended sentence. But if a vested interest or awareness of the criminal nature of the scheme is established, the consequences will be much more serious.

Criminals began to attract teenagers as couriers, added Yuri Levin, a lawyer at the Moscow Regional Bar Association branch No. 1.

"Young people are promised easy earnings without any responsibility, but in the end there is responsibility, and criminal," he said.

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How else are criminals trying to deceive Russians

Young people become a target for scammers because, due to inexperience, they cannot immediately recognize manipulation and tend to trust the digital environment more, Albert Khaleyan believes.

At the same time, fraudsters often use an individual approach — the beginning may be a call "from the bank" about a suspicious transaction, "from the military enlistment office" about problems with documents, "from the delivery service."

— Then there are the legends associated with reputable government agencies: the FSB, the Investigative Committee, the Interior Ministry. The victim is informed that loans, cars, or powers of attorney for terrorists have been issued in her name. The key element is to create the illusion of a total disaster, where the only way to escape is to follow the instructions of the scammers," the lawyer said.

According to him, the activities of the courier of fraudsters, in particular, fall under the article "Money laundering acquired by criminal means." Taking into account the new law on droppers, it assumes severe sanctions — up to six years in prison and a fine of 1 million rubles.

— The courier is the last but most vulnerable link in the chain. He receives cash in a bank or cryptocurrency through an exchanger, and then transfers it to the next link or legalizes it in another way. When the chain is revealed, all the evidence (victim testimony, camera footage) they will point to the courier, while the true organizers will remain in the shadows," the lawyer explained.

How to protect yourself from scammers

The most important rule of security is under no circumstances to commit actions with money, bank cards or accounts of "Gosuslug" on the instructions of unknown persons, Albert Khaleyan said.

— If you receive a suspicious call, put down the phone and call this organization yourself at the number indicated on the official website, — the lawyer recommended. — If scammers are blackmailing and threatening, you need to contact the police as soon as possible. This step captures your side of the story.

Fraudulent schemes are constantly becoming more complicated, but their essence remains the same — psychological pressure on the victim, said Alexey Korobchenko, head of the information security department at the Security Code company.

—Criminals use proven tactics: they create artificial urgency, manipulate through fear and the authority of government agencies, and gradually involve them in illegal actions," he said. — Now the attackers have begun to prepare more carefully — they collect data from social networks, use neural networks to create realistic content.

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People tend to trust their interlocutor more when they have contacted him themselves, experts warn.

According to the expert, cybercriminals can also adapt their criminal schemes to important world events, holiday dates or the release of new technological products in order to make their legends more believable. To protect yourself from intruders, it is important to remain vigilant and take a critical approach to evaluating information.

— Representatives of government agencies do not resolve issues by phone, do not make demands for immediate action, and do not use messengers for official communications. At the slightest doubt, you should interrupt the conversation and notify your loved ones. To verify the information, you can call the department at the official number," Alexey Korobchenko recommended.

Antivirus programs, special call filters, and parental control programs for teenagers and children help protect themselves from information threats on the Internet, said Andrey Sidenko, head of online child security at Kaspersky Lab.