Fraudsters are trying to get personal data of Russians under the guise of a birthday gift, the Department for Combating Illegal Use of Information and Communications Technologies of the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region reported on its Telegram channel.
The intended victim receives a call or text that they have been sent a birthday gift and must confirm delivery to receive the package. At the same time, the sender's name is hidden, explaining this by the desire to keep the surprise.
During the conversation, the birthday person is asked to enter an SMS code, which, according to the “delivery people”, is needed for verification when placing an order. In effect, this is a one-time password to log into a banking app or Government Services portal. Once they gain access to the victim's account, criminals can enter her personal accounts on various services, apply for loans, steal money, or use personal information to carry out new fraud schemes.
St. Police Petersburg urges Russians to be wary of any gift offers from unknown people and reminds that no delivery service requires customers to provide SMS passwords under the pretext of data verification or order confirmation.
Scammers used a similar scheme before February 14, deceiving Russians under the guise of offering bouquets of flowers as Valentine's Day gifts.
