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- Tour flight: how scammers speculate on the topic of rest during the May holidays
Tour flight: how scammers speculate on the topic of rest during the May holidays
Fraudsters can use various schemes on the topic of holidays in May to deceive Russians, experts have warned about this. Attackers take advantage of the fact that people often plan trips on short notice, which forces them to make decisions faster than usual. Playing on this, scammers artfully create a stir around their fake offers. For details on what deception schemes to expect on the topic of holidays in May in 2026, what are the dangers of such tricks and how to protect yourself from them, read the Izvestia article.
What is the topic of recreation for the May holidays interesting to scammers?
Any vacation involves spending money, and the May holidays are a traditional period when many Russians prefer to leave cities, says Alexandra Shmigirilova, GR director of the Security Code information security company, in an interview with Izvestia.
— Many busy people leave planning for the last day and start buying and booking already in a rush — they are in a hurry, and their caution is decreasing, — says the expert. — At the same time, online tools are used to save time, and all online services, unfortunately, provide loopholes for scammers.
According to Alexandra Shmigirilova, attackers, using growing technical capabilities, try to deceive customers and sometimes succeed in this.
In turn, Sergey Polunin, head of the Gazinformservice IT infrastructure Solutions protection group, notes that before the May holidays, people relax, become kinder and less wary. In such an atmosphere, it's easier for scammers to hook them with fake discounts, promotions, or lucrative offers that you need to accept right now. People themselves slightly reduce their own level of protection, and scammers can only come up with plausible legends.
What schemes about holidays in May to expect in 2026
An increase in fraud activity should be expected by the end of April, the head of BI believes.ZONE Digital Risk Protection Dmitry Kiryushkin. According to the expert, the attackers will presumably create phishing sites massively imitating the actions of well-known travel brands. In addition, they can post offers of travel packages and tickets at a favorable price on social networks and in comments to posts of major channels on Telegram and other messengers.
"You should also be vigilant on platforms with ads: this is a favorite place for scammers,— warns Izvestia's interlocutor. — Now they can actively offer to purchase vouchers for bonus programs on the eve of the holidays.
In turn, Artyom Beley, a senior analyst at Positive Technologies, argues that in 2026, one of the dangerous scenarios for consumers is not a deliberately fake website, but a situation where a fraudster integrates into an existing travel context and asks to "confirm", "reissue" or "refund" the payment outside the official channel. connections.
It is also worth noting that the use of AI by fraudsters reinforces existing schemes in the field of tourism, the expert says. Therefore, by May 2026, it is rational to expect an increase in the use of artificial intelligence in such fraudulent schemes.
— In March 2026, the number of spam on the tourism topic has already increased by 12% compared to February, — adds the chairman of the Coordinating Council of the non-governmental security Sector (CS of the National Security Council of Russia) Igor Bederov. — Fake travel chats are gaining popularity on Telegram and other messengers. There, "experienced travelers" offer to find fellow travelers to share the costs, and then ask them to transfer money to an individual's card.
What schemes have you seen before about holidays in May?
Meanwhile, scammers have been trying to speculate on the topic of long weekend vacations for years. In particular, according to Artem Beley, in 2025, the themes of May trips, rental housing and urgent tours remained, but the schemes themselves became technologically more complex.
"Fake rental ads on social networks, scenarios with entering bank card data and a confirmation code on an iPhone, malicious Android applications, as well as travel chats in messengers through which false offers were promoted were used," the expert says.
In addition, as Artyom Beley notes, fake flights were additionally distributed "a few hours before departure," as well as more complex campaigns like ClickFix against hotels. A ClickFix campaign disguised as a travel platform usually refers to an attack where attackers disguise themselves as a booking service or a hotel page. The danger of such attacks already went beyond the usual theft of money: they could lead to the installation of malware, hacking of hotel infrastructure and leakage of guest data.
According to Tatiana Kulikova, a cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky Lab, such schemes are aimed at a wide range of users, but those who are in a hurry to make purchases or do not have sufficient experience checking online services may be particularly vulnerable. Having interested the user, the attackers will redirect him to a fraudulent resource, where they will be required to leave sensitive authorization data or information about bank cards, says Dmitry Kiryushkin.
"Then they will steal the victim's money or sell confidential data to other intruders," the specialist warns. — Cybercriminals may also require you to make an advance payment in messengers and social networks, and then stop contacting them.
At the same time, it is important that the stolen personal data of the victim may not be used by intruders immediately, but sold on the black market to other scammers, which means that the risk of repeated deception is rapidly increasing, warns Alexandra Shmigirilova.
How to protect yourself from the "May" fraud schemes
In order to protect yourself from fraud schemes on the topic of rest during the May holidays, experts interviewed by Izvestia advise following certain safety rules. In particular, Maria Mikhailova, head of the Angara MTDR brand protection group, recommends that when you receive favorable vacation offers in emails or text messages, you should be careful to follow links — they may be phishing.
— Fraudsters can also offer to download a malicious application under the guise of an official company service for booking tours or accommodation, — says the expert. — If you are interested in the message, find the official website of the organization through the search engine, specify the information by phone or email specified on this resource.
In addition, according to Maria Mikhailova, when booking accommodation, it is necessary to check the reviews and rating of the landlord in several sources, be wary of suspiciously low prices, carefully check contact information and not rush to prepay. Do not send copies of your documents and SMS codes to unknown people, and also do not enter them yourself on dubious resources allegedly to confirm the booking of a tour, hotel or tickets.
It is important to make all payments through official payment and banking systems that provide refund opportunities, the expert reminds. And if you decide on a spontaneous trip, use the services of tour operators, hotel chains and official carriers that you know. Despite the upcoming May weekend, many companies are offering discounts on tours today due to relatively low demand.
— It should be remembered that official tour operators and agencies do not request personal information by phone and do not offer to make a payment using a link from an SMS, — the experts of the MTS Defender service conclude. — If you encounter this type of fraud, immediately hang up the phone and end the conversation. And in order not to receive unwanted calls, use special protection tools from telecom operators.
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