Scammers have begun sending messages to Russian citizens claiming their pensions will be blocked by the Social or Pension Fund, with the intent of forcing victims into phishing websites where they must share personal information to steal funds.
Galaktion Kucava, an expert with the Popular Front project, detailed this scam in a report released on January 29. He emphasized that as a separate legal entity, the Pension Fund has not existed in Russia since 2023, meaning any communications purporting to be from it are fraudulent. These messages falsely state pension blockage.
The fraudsters aim to instill panic and compel victims to click links leading to phishing sites designed to mimic Gosuslug. On these sites, individuals are prompted to enter passport details, SNILS numbers, INN information, and SMS verification codes—data attackers use to compromise personal accounts.
In a subsequent phase, scammers often contact victims again, posing as bank employees, Rosfinmonitoring officials, or FSB agents. They allege unauthorized transactions or hacks on the victim’s account and pressure them into transferring savings to an account they control.
Dmitry Dudkov, chief specialist at F6 for countering financial fraud, reported on January 28 that scammers are deploying the FakeBoss scheme. This involves creating fake management company accounts to deceive citizens under pretexts such as “updating the list of tenants” or “confirming the relevance of information.” The initial step typically includes sending users a code via SMS or a link to a Telegram bot.
