In the Russian segment of the Internet, almost 50 sites disguised as “Gosuslugi” were registered in three days. On ordinary days, there were only one or two such registrations per day on the Runet. Fraudsters have intensified sharply after reports appeared that non-working days will be introduced in Russia due to the exacerbation of the situation with COVID-19. Another reason is the spread of QR codes in many regions of the country.
According to Infosecurity a Softline Company, which provides information security services, from 18 to 21 October, 48 domain names were registered on the Internet imitating Gosuslugi as gosusliga, gosusluni, etc. Leading analyst of the company Alexander Vurasko noted that during lockdowns the demand for fake vaccination certificates are growing, which is what scammers use:
“Attackers can use such domains to sell fake QR codes or phishing — access to a user's personal data or infecting his device with a virus,” Vurasko told Kommersant.
The ministry constantly monitors the creation of resources with domain names masquerading as gosuslugi.ru. Some of them are blocked immediately, others are monitored until unlawful content or actions are detected. According to the ministry, 100-200 suspicious resources are blocked per month.
Those using fake vaccination certificates can be prosecuted for violation of sanitary and epidemiological rules. This provides for imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 700,000 rubles. But for this it is necessary to prove that because of the actions of the violator, people have suffered, and this is difficult to do. Therefore, it is easier to start a case under an administrative article on those who have issued fake certificates – it provides for a fine of up to 40,000 rubles.
On September 9, Sberbank announced a fraudulent scheme to steal data from Russians. Disguising themselves as “Gosuslugi”, the scammers send out notifications of detachment from the clinic due to a technical failure and offer to re-register and pay the fee. To register, they send a link that leads to the mirror site of “Gosuslugi”.
On October 20, at a meeting with the government, Vladimir Putin declared the days from October 30 to November 7, 2021, non-working throughout Russia. This measure is necessary to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. At the same time, a lockdown was introduced in Moscow from October 28 to November 7.
Photo: Alexander Avilov / Moscow Agency
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