Internet users in Russia have been the subject of an email campaign announcing the launch of an alleged state-issued cryptocurrency. Potential victims are encouraged to follow a link to the fraudulent investment scheme’s website, security experts said.
Thousands of investment offers lure Russians into putting money into non-existent cryptocurrencies
Scammers have been sending emails to Russian residents claiming to be writing on behalf of a regulatory body about the upcoming release of “Russian state cryptocurrency,” the Tass news agency. reportedciting Kaspersky Lab.
“With such messages, attackers lure users to resources where they risk losing money,” the cybersecurity firm explained. Several thousand of these letters were sent in late February, the antivirus vendor revealed.
The fraudulent emails claim that Russia is preparing to introduce a state-issued cryptocurrency and encourage recipients to follow a link to the currency’s investment program website. The site also features a project allegedly developed by Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, the most popular messenger in the crypto community.
The platform offers visitors a fake opportunity to invest in the project and earn even more in the future. In reality, the deposits made by the victim go to the scammers. Investors would get nothing back and would risk compromising sensitive information shared with the website.
Russian tech giant Mail.ru’s anti-spam systems block more than 200,000 cryptocurrency-related scam emails every day, according to the technical director of the group’s business unit. About 15% of them are disguised as letters supposedly sent on behalf of regulators, detailed Andrey Sumin.
To avoid falling victim to scams like these, experts recommend that users improve their digital literacy first, use a security solution for their smartphone and PC, be careful with email content, and refrain from clicking on links from unknown sources or entering sensitive data on suspicious websites.
The Central Bank of Russia has been working on a project to issue a digital version of the national fiat currency. The digital ruble will be the third form of Russian money besides cash and electronic bank money. It will be used for payments, not for investments.
In February, the monetary authority announced that it plans to start testing it with real users and transactions on April 1, with the goal of a full rollout in 2024. Russia has yet to comprehensively regulate decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
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