The Federation Council spoke about scammers meeting teenagers on the Internet

Fraudsters meet teenagers on the Internet, then send a link to a page with a false notification about a hacked account on State Services and threaten to force them to follow instructions, Senator Artem Sheikin told RIA Novosti.

“Dating on the Internet can be the beginning of a scheme in which a teenager is gradually persuaded to follow the instructions of criminals. First, the interlocutor introduces himself as a peer, shows interest in communication, learns about the family and offers to meet. Then, under the usual everyday pretext, he sends a link. Often this does not cause any suspicion: the message no longer comes from a random stranger, but from a person with whom they managed to establish contact,” he said.

According to the senator, then the nature of the communication changes dramatically: after clicking on the link, a message appears about an allegedly hacked account on State Services, and then a call comes from an “employee” of the service or department.

“The teenager is told that illegal actions have been committed on his behalf, threatened with criminal charges, and sent forged documents. The notification itself on an unfamiliar page does not prove hacking, but it is important for scammers that the person is scared and trusts the next caller,” Shaykin continued.

A particular danger, he noted, is the requirement not to tell anyone about what is happening.

“The young man or girl is convinced that talking to his parents will worsen the situation, and that punishment can be avoided only by following the instructions. Then, under the guise of a “search via video link,” they demand to show the apartment, find money and jewelry, and hand it over to the courier,” the parliamentarian emphasized.

He drew attention to the fact that the ability to use modern applications in itself does not protect against such pressure: a teenager can confidently navigate digital services, but not understand the procedure of law enforcement agencies and become confused in the face of threats. The lack of their own savings is also not an argument for criminals - through the child they will try to gain access to the parents’ property.