A new fraud scheme related to account theft in messengers through phishing platforms is actively spreading in Ukraine. These platforms were first developed by Russian fraudsters who learned to use artificial intelligence to create deepfakes, including videos and audio messages, to demand large sums of money in loans under false identities.
This is reported by Finway
Fraudsters’ Methods and Their Victims
One victim, 57-year-old Inna, shared her experience: “In the evening, a message came to our workgroup chat in Telegram asking us to vote in a contest for a colleague’s child or niece. I didn’t even open that message. A few minutes later, that colleague sent me the same message…” The next day, Inna lost access to her Telegram account, and the fraudsters began sending messages to her contacts asking for financial help.
The fraudsters did not just send the same message; they carefully analyzed the correspondence to imitate their victims’ communication style. “Messages were sent in my name first to the last contacts I had communicated with. They wrote: ‘I’m in chemistry, I’m a bit short, can you lend me 15 thousand by morning?’ They asked someone for 20 thousand,” Inna recalls.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in Fraud
Experts note that the phishing platforms used by fraudsters are adapted for popular messengers such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Viber. Raisa Fedorovska, head of EMA Academy and the School of Cybersecurity, emphasized: “Fraudsters use phishing web panels to steal accounts. Victims give access to their accounts by clicking on the link.”
Although this scheme was developed in Russia, it is not limited to Russian fraudsters. Individuals from various countries are involved, and some of them may be Ukrainians. Fraudsters skillfully use artificial intelligence to generate voice and video messages, making it significantly more difficult to detect fraud.
If you become a victim of fraudsters, it is important to contact the cyber police, as traditional methods through the police often do not yield quick results. “Banks do not respond to our inquiries, and obtaining information about the fraudster’s account requires a judge’s decision, which takes several months,” police representatives state.
“This scheme was devised in Russia. I saw how phishing panel sales first appeared on the Darknet, and they were indeed Russians,” says Raisa Fedorovska.