Fraudsters call Russians under the pretext of renewing a heating contract

Fraudsters began calling Russians under the pretext of the need to renew the contract for the supply of thermal energy.

Attackers defraud citizens of data to access personal information using the Gosuslugi portal or requesting the series and number of a passport, as well as the cadastral number of a residential premises.

The expert recommends that you independently contact the management company or resource supply organization to clarify information about the planned work related to the contract.

MOSCOW, September 12 - RIA Novosti. Fraudsters began calling Russians under the pretext of the need to renew a contract for the supply of thermal energy and lure out data for access to personal information, Yevgeny Masharov, a member of the RF OP Commission on Public Control and Work with Citizens' Appeals, told RIA Novosti.

The heating season has already begun in 19 regions of Russia.

“Fraudsters send SMS messages or call under the pretext of the need to renew a contract for the supply of thermal energy. During the communication, a false employee of the heating network company asks the citizen to confirm his identity by logging into the State Services portal to make sure that the conversation is with this particular recipient of the service,” Masharov said.

After a person reports the received code, the scammer receives his data and stops communicating. In the future, attackers can use the citizen’s personal data for their own purposes, he noted.

“Sometimes a false employee does not request authorization through Gosuslugi, but asks for the series and number of the passport to confirm identity, as well as the cadastral number of the residential premises. Having received the person’s personal details and data about the residential premises, a multi-step performance is started here,” Masharov added.

The expert explained that, having received a person’s personal data and information about his home, scammers can involve false law enforcement officers, Rosreestr, Rosimushchestvo and other organizations in the scheme. They post a fake advertisement on the Internet about the sale of an apartment and then inform the owner that his home is supposedly up for auction.

After this, the attackers offer to urgently transfer money for the apartment to a special account so that it is not sold to third parties, Masharov added.