The key facts

  • Anton Nemkin described three main schemes: copies of well-known stores, phishing and fake messages from delivery services and banks
  • Fake sites offer goods at discounts of up to 90%, and after payment the sellers disappear
  • The material complements previously published Interior Ministry warnings and data on fraud disguised as delivery

Fraud schemes during sales seasons

Fraudsters become more active ahead of Black Friday, exploiting the hype around sales. Anton Nemkin, first deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on digital development and artificial intelligence, described the main fraud schemes in an interview with RIA Novosti, as reported by Gazeta.Ru.

Fake stores and phishing

According to the deputy, one of the most common schemes is creating fake online stores that almost completely copy the design and product range of well-known marketplaces. Shoppers are offered smartphones, home appliances, clothing and other popular goods at discounts of up to 90%, and after payment the sellers stop responding. The addresses of such sites may differ from the originals by only a couple of letters, making the substitution hard to notice; links spread via social media, messengers and ads are especially dangerous.

Phishing and fake notifications

The second common method of deception is phishing. A user receives a message about a 'personal discount', a certificate win or a problem with an order delivery, and is then asked to follow a link and enter bank card details. Nemkin noted that in such cases fraudsters gain access to payment information, and sometimes to accounts on marketplaces as well. An additional risk, in his words, comes from fake messages from delivery services and banks, in which a person is urged to urgently confirm a payment or pay a small commission.

Context of previous warnings

These schemes add to the picture of other recent warnings. Earlier, the Interior Ministry warned Russians about fake utility bills with QR codes, and before that it was reported that nearly 30% of Moscow residents had encountered fraud disguised as delivery. Thus, the schemes described by Nemkin ahead of Black Friday continue an already documented trend: criminals disguise themselves as services familiar to people — from delivery and banks to utility payments and well-known stores.