Overview
- The Interior Ministry’s cyber unit issued an Oct. 28 advisory cautioning consumers ahead of November discount events, including Black Friday.
- Fraudsters are launching counterfeit online stores that copy major brands, advertise discounts of up to 90%, and demand advance payment.
- Links to supposed sales are pushed through email campaigns, messengers, and social networks and redirect to fake payment forms that harvest card data.
- Scam formats include messages about large prize wins that require an obligatory fee and calls from impostor couriers requesting one-time SMS codes.
- Moscow police reported shutting down a scheme of nearly 30 store look‑alike websites built on aggressive marketing, with suspects now being pursued for criminal liability.