Ring alarm: scammers create fake websites for the sale of "jewelry" before March 8
Attackers are preparing for March 8: the number of phishing sites with jewelry has increased dramatically before the holiday, cybersecurity companies warn. When making a gift, victims disclose personal and payment information on fake resources. Russians are being actively attacked with sophisticated social engineering schemes, from fake dating invitations to calls from "couriers" with urgent delivery and promises of exclusive discounts. Details about the new and old tricks of scammers can be found in the Izvestia article.
How Russians are being attacked before March 8th
Fraudsters have become more active in Russia on the eve of the women's holiday, cybersecurity companies told Izvestia. In particular, the number of phishing domains related to the sale of jewelry has increased significantly, experts from BI.ZONE Digital Risk Protection said.
To place an order on one of these trap sites, the victim must provide contact information: last name, first name, patronymic, phone number, address and email. The attackers designed the site in such a way that the user entered as much information about himself as possible, otherwise the order could not be placed. And after filling it out, the "seller" personally contacts the victim to request bank card details.
— The identified sites are of the same type — many of them are identical in visual design, and the domains practically do not differ from each other, — the head of BI added.ZONE Digital Risk Protection Dmitry Kiryushkin. — By default, the resources offer content in English, but you can switch to Russian. The same option applies to prices: initially, the price is indicated in dollars, but it can also be displayed in euros and rubles. At the same time, the sites are hosted in the Russian domain zone.
Thus, the attackers probably expect to attract potential victims with foreign quality or an assortment that may differ from the products of familiar Russian brands. By offering big discounts and promotions, scammers encourage users to place orders.
The activity of scammers was also confirmed by Svyatoslav Makarov, an analyst at the Speakatel Cyber Threat monitoring center.
— Before March 8, we are recording not just an increase in the activity of intruders, but a thematic "calibration" of their arsenal, — said the expert. — Increased emotional background and haste dull the vigilance of victims. The fake jewelry scheme is a classic example of pre—holiday phishing.
What schemes are used by scammers?
As the holiday approaches, there is an increase in attacks related to fake delivery of goods — their number has recently increased by 15%, experts from the MTS Defender service said.
—Scammers use the legend of delivering surprise gifts or prepaid orders," they noted. — In the course of communication, posing as couriers, they extort "confirmation codes" from potential victims, which actually give them access to citizens' bank accounts.
Men can receive calls or letters from "couriers" demanding to make an advance payment for a bouquet or pay for delivery, said Svyatoslav Makarov.
— Calculation of scammers — many men order flowers these days and in a hurry may not understand which "store" is calling him, — said the expert.
Women receive messages about the bouquet from a "secret admirer." To confirm receipt of the gift, they are asked to give the code from the SMS.
At the same time, MTS Defender specialists note an 8% increase in the number of phishing schemes exploiting the theme of pre-holiday shopping. Scammers offer to purchase gifts at "special prices" and with large discounts, however, information about such advantageous offers is unreliable and is created solely for embezzlement of funds.
Svyatoslav Makarov also warned about "interactive music postcards" or "exclusive video greetings." Links in such emails lead to phishing sites, or the file contains malicious software.
"Fake contests and "promotions" on behalf of floral studios or cosmetic brands are also popular," the expert added. "They hold "repost contests" with valuable prizes, such as an annual supply of flowers. When a "winner" is announced, they are required to pay a "symbolic commission" or "delivery" to receive their winnings.
Fraudsters also send messages from hacked social media accounts to the victim's contacts asking them to urgently borrow money, ostensibly to buy a holiday gift before the promotion or unique product ends.
— Malefactors are also becoming more active on dating sites, — said Svyatoslav Makarov. — There they use standard legends to extort money or steal data from the victim.
Fake date remains one of the most popular "holiday" schemes, said a data analyst at the .RU/ Domain Coordination Center.Russian Federation Evgeny Pankov. Scammers create fake profiles of attractive girls on social networks, Telegram or on dating sites.
"They get to know each other, build trusting communication and offer to go to the cinema, theater or concert," he said. — Considering that March 8 falls on a day off this year, there are possible options for booking a country hotel or cottage. To buy tickets or pay for a reservation, the "girl" sends a link to a phishing website — after entering the card details, the victim loses money.
According to the Domain Patrol project, this scheme is being used more actively before March 8 than on the eve of February 14. Last year, in March, the number of blocked domains related to Fake date increased by 63% compared to February. And this year, we can expect an increase in attacks according to this pattern.
How not to fall for the trick
People are more likely to fall for the tricks of intruders on the eve of the holidays, because they are in a hurry and are in waiting mode: orders, gifts, deliveries, says Tatiana Goldman, a practical psychologist and member of the Association for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
"In this state, they act automatically more often and check the details less," she noted. — Scammers usually put pressure on urgency: "the courier is already on his way," "we urgently need to confirm the details," "the parcel will not be delivered without payment." When we're in a hurry, critical thinking shuts down.
Traditionally, pre-holidays play into the hands of intruders.
"People order goods online more often, wait for parcels, receive more notifications and calls, so a message about a "delivery problem" or "data clarification" sounds plausible," explained Alexey Karpunin, a partner at 5D Consulting. — Against this background, scammers build a conversation as if it were about real support: first, they carefully collect general information, and then proceed to requests to name SMS codes.
Analysts estimate that the total number of fraud attempts during the holiday period is about 44% higher than during normal months.
— With all the variety of schemes, it is important to understand that there is no universal technical "antivirus" from social engineering, — the expert emphasized. — Only the habit of critical thinking works here, which needs to be trained. When it comes to any messages — calls, emails, SMS, instant messenger chats, it is useful to make it a rule to treat them initially as potentially fraudulent.
You can protect yourself during this period by following simple rules. It is necessary to conduct transactions only on official resources and verified platforms, recommends Dmitry Kiryushkin.
— And to identify a fraudulent site, you should pay attention to the address bar: a phishing domain may differ from the original one by just one character, — he reminded. — Thus, the attackers are counting on the inattention of users.
But the main rule of holidays is to "turn on" critical thinking, Svyatoslav Makarov advised.
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