The key facts
- The delivery pretext scheme is the most common in Moscow: 28% of study participants
- 24% encountered calls from alleged banks, police, and government agencies, 21% — with fake websites
- Young Muscovites aged 18–25 recognized fraud on average within a minute and a half
Delivery is the main pretext
Calls offering to confirm an order or arrange delivery have become the most common fraud scheme in Moscow: 28% of study participants encountered such attempts, reports RIA Novosti citing a survey. Under the guise of resolving everyday matters related to parcels — rescheduling delivery, clarifying an address, or refunding money for a cancelled purchase — fraudsters send a link to a resource imitating the website of a delivery service or seller. Data entered on such a page may end up in the hands of scammers.
Other common schemes
In second place is the use of names of organizations that are commonly trusted: 24% of respondents received calls and messages from alleged bank employees, police officers, and government officials. Another 21% encountered fake websites of banks, payment services, and government agencies. Less common are fraud when shopping online (16%) and suspicious links and QR codes in building chats, on entrance doors, and in mailboxes (11%). Young Muscovites were the quickest to recognize fraud attempts: respondents aged 18 to 25 needed on average just a minute and a half after receiving a message or starting a conversation.
Signs of a phone fraudster
The survey data is complemented by an earlier warning from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, which Life.ru cites: alarming signs of a phone fraudster include threats of fines and summons, as well as demands to urgently confirm personal data. If an unknown caller first intimidates a person and then asks them to enter a code, it is best to end the conversation immediately. The police also consider the phrases 'confirm your details' and 'update your information' to be suspicious signals — according to ministry representatives, such demands may be part of a fraud scheme.
