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- Deception without shame: damage from fake service centers is estimated at billions of rubles
Deception without shame: damage from fake service centers is estimated at billions of rubles
Cases of fraud by fake service centers have become more frequent in Russia. According to experts, the total damage from their actions is estimated at several billion rubles. Such scs disguise themselves as bygone brands, such as Apple or Sony, offer people to pick up their expensive equipment, and after allegedly diagnosing it, they impose its repair at inflated prices. As a result, users either overpay or are left without gadgets altogether. According to cybersecurity experts, the damage from this scheme has increased by almost 20% compared to 2024. Some of these SCS have special training courses for fraudsters. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
Damage caused by fake service centers
The number of cases of fraud by fake service centers in Russia has increased significantly. Experts estimate the damage from such schemes at several billion rubles. Thus, according to Igor Bederov, the founder of the Internet Search company, in January – July 2025, this figure increased by almost 20% compared to the same period in 2024 and reached about 7 billion.
— One of the large groups (DMG) has a daily turnover of over 200 thousand rubles, that is, about 6-7 million per month. With several dozen such groups, the total turnover reaches hundreds of millions. Taking into account the numerous small—scale fraudulent groups, the estimated damage is about 7 billion rubles," the expert added.
The scale of the problem is confirmed by Svyatoslav Pegov, IT expert, director of the Center for Sports Programming, Algorithmic Robotics, Cybersecurity and Esports at Ufa University of Science and Technology.
— The problem of fake companies providing services in the Russian Federation under the guise of official and legal counterparties is much broader than the public knows. If we consider various extortion, veiled and hidden special conditions in the offer agreements, then in fact it turns out that the damage from such actions goes to billions of rubles. In fact, this market is much larger than law enforcement agencies know, since the lion's share of victims never go anywhere or complain. The maximum is negative reviews on websites and on social networks," he said.
The number of fraudulent incidents around fake service centers has been growing by about 25% annually since 2022, and in the first half of 2025, the figure increased by about 15-17%, and the damage from them is estimated at hundreds of millions of rubles, Pavel Kovalenko, director of the Informzashita Anti-Fraud Center, told Izvestia.
Izvestia sent a request to the Interior Ministry.
How fake services cheat
Various fraudulent schemes are associated with service centers, including overstated repair costs and extortion.
The process often begins with the user leaving a request on the website. They call him back and offer to pick up damaged equipment (computers, smartphones, televisions). Representatives of these centers claim that they are working officially and by agreement with companies that have left the Russian Federation, such as Apple or Sony.
— Scammers often hide behind the names of well-known technology companies, whose services are still popular, despite their official absence in the Russian Federation. Some of the SCS use advertising questionnaires to collect people's personal data. This information can also get into third hands," explained Igor Bederov.
At first, representatives of fake SC promise quick repairs (for example, in one day) and inform about the availability of all necessary spare parts in stock. After receiving the equipment, it turns out that the necessary parts are "missing" and the repair time is delayed. The client is offered to speed up the process for individual money ("for ransom"). If repairs are refused after the price is announced, the client risks extortion — representatives of the SC may demand payment for "diagnostics" or start threatening, said Sergey Kuzmenko, head of the Roskachestvo Digital Expertise Center.
In addition, scammers create websites that mimic the official SCS of popular brands. They attract customers with lucrative offers and high positions in search results. According to him, they can send a courier who will help sign the contract, pick up the equipment and take it to the workshop. However, there is no real service center at the specified address. As a result, customers lose anyway — they lose either their equipment or money.
— Such contracts, as in the case of fraudulent SCS, have signs of bondage. During the transfer of the equipment for repair, in case of its breakdown, the responsibility will be borne not by the master, but by the customer, — said lawyer Ekaterina Krasnova.
First of all, it is necessary to pay attention to a large number of negative reviews or their complete absence.
— A service with an excessively broad work profile should be alerted, which takes on everything in a row without having a clear specialization — especially if it is a small private workshop, and not a large network. Financial and legal risks in such cases are associated with the refusal to formalize an official contract and compile a detailed inventory of the accepted equipment," added Sergey Kuzmenko.
According to him, many previously official services have now become "gray". They often use lower-quality components, which is due to both objective logistical difficulties and the inability to find the right original part.
— Do not forget that there are currently no de jure licenses for such activities. Therefore, if they show you the leaflets that they were certified by Sony, Samsung or other companies not operating in the Russian Federation, then all this is no longer valid," said Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily.
How fake service centers work
Izvestia has at its disposal a video course with several so-called teachers for such SCS. Each of them is responsible for their own area. The first one talks about how to deceive a client by imposing additional services and unnecessary expenses on him. For example, how to come up with information that a more expensive part is to blame for a device failure and the repair cost will be significantly higher.
The second instructor gives tips on the courier's neat appearance. He is required to carry a laptop and a USB flash drive, as well as a set of disks with the Windows operating system (usually unlicensed). At the same time, he must purchase all consumables at his own expense, the employer even offers an advance for this, and create the illusion of an effective employee who is ready to solve some of the issues on the spot. For example, you can update your antivirus or reinstall the operating system to a newer version on other user devices.
According to the videos, scammers have an arsenal of methods to mislead the client.
They usually offer to hand over the faulty device to the courier over the phone. If a person wants to give away the equipment on their own, they are usually refused, citing security measures or other far-fetched reasons. The reason is that when visiting the office, the user will see the absence of the basic signs of a full-fledged company: a basement, no signage, a cheap interior and staff who do not know how to work with real customers.
The most important thing is that the application is sent to work and the courier brings the device, a former employee of such a SC told Izvestia. For the performance of secondary services for additional money, the management of the SC often promises to pay a percentage.
— This scheme is not new, back in 2021 there was a scandal: at that time there were over 2 thousand repair sites in the registry, some of them turned out to be fake during inspections. This kind of deception still exists. Now the scammers are closing one legal entity, opening another and continuing to work. In 100% of cases, registration takes place at mass registration addresses, and everywhere this is done using nominal data," the source explained.
How to protect yourself from unscrupulous service centers
Izvestia found out that a Moscow resident named Vladimir recently got into this situation. The consumer's HP laptop is broken. He found an "official" service online, whose representative came and took the computer. Later, this SC refused to return the device, demanding a daily storage fee. At the same time, the repair price was not reported before the diagnosis, and subsequently additional expense items were added.
— I had a case with a Sony Bravia TV. The device itself was built in 2018 and needed to be repaired due to problems with the screen. I contacted the SC, which I found using Google. On the phone, they promised to come and pick me up in the evening of the same day. But when asked about the location of the SC, the employee refused to answer. Because of the strange behavior, I began to make inquiries, and it turned out that there was no such company in reality, as well as in the register of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. The service turned out to be fake," Tolyatti resident Alexandra told Izvestia.
As of October 2025, there is no confirmed information about the presence in Russia of official service centers authorized by Sony and using original spare parts, explained IT expert Ivan Kalmykov.
The deceived consumer anonymously told Izvestia about one of these service centers in the Taganka shopping center. It is notable for the fact that it accepts a wide range of devices for repairs, from smartphones to gardening equipment. However, his work is not organized in the best way: clients are given a check, but they do not make a detailed inventory of the equipment. In some cases, the equipment was kept for a long time, and then returned to the owner, while an internal inspection showed that the device was not even disassembled.
Valeria Besedina, an analyst at the Positive Technologies research group, recalled that attackers often hide behind well-known brands. The popularity of such schemes is explained by the fact that people trust familiar organizations, and scammers do not need to invent a story. Also, large brands have a wide audience, which is why the number of potential victims is increasing.
— Such cases are widespread. The brands that are most often affected are either gone or their products are popular with the population. In addition to the mentioned Sony, Apple and LG, scammers create fictitious service centers and clone sites disguised as official partners of companies such as Samsung, Nintendo, Dyson and others," added Andrei Yarnykh, an information security expert and member of the Board of ROCIT.
Such requests are often based on leaks of user data from a particular brand. The key indicator of fraud is haste (urgent action, just now) and the requirement of any prepayment under any pretext. In a situation with the alleged return of companies, this may also be a "contribution for queuing for spare parts" or "payment of customs duties," the specialist noted.
Fraudsters actively take advantage of the fact that most models of laptops, computers and smartphones are imported in parallel. One of the common tricks is to use the names "official service center" or "authorized service center," explained Timofey Voronin, project manager at Intelligent Analytics.
According to Ivan Skavysh, an expert on corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions, if the illusion is created that the service center is officially operating, then this is misleading.
According to the law, the contractor himself has the right to set prices for his services, including for the repair of equipment. The main thing is that he should inform the client in advance and clearly of all the necessary information: what services will be provided, on what terms and how much it costs. This should be indicated in a written contract, which is signed by both parties, explained lawyer Pavel Alexandrov with reference to the law "On Consumer Rights Protection".
According to him, if such information is not provided immediately, the client may cancel the contract and demand a refund and damages. However, if the document is signed and the price is indicated in it, the consumer is obliged to pay for the service. At the same time, he can cancel the contract at any time, but must compensate the contractor for the actual costs already incurred. Therefore, if the client has changed his mind, it is better to inform him about it as early as possible, the expert concluded.
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