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- To cut off the account: benefits and maternity capital have become more often used in fraudulent schemes
To cut off the account: benefits and maternity capital have become more often used in fraudulent schemes
Social security fraud increased by a quarter compared to last year: in January–August 2026, the Ministry of Internal Affairs recorded almost 1,400 such crimes, Izvestia found out. We are talking about schemes with benefits, maternity capital and subsidies: attackers submit fake documents or make payments to fictitious recipients. Separately, scammers use the topic of state support to deceive citizens. They promise "new payments" for the holidays, help with the registration of benefits or compensation, create websites similar to "Public Services", and then lure money, SMS codes and bank card data. Why schemes around social support have become more widespread and how not to become a victim of them is in the Izvestia article.
How much has the number of payment fraud cases increased?
In January–August 2026, 321,000 crimes were recorded online in Russia, according to a report from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Izvestia has it). Fraud in receiving payments showed a noticeable increase (Article 159.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The number of such cases increased by 23.4% compared to the same period in 2025, to 1.4 thousand, the report says.
We are talking about fraud in obtaining benefits, compensations and subsidies, including maternity capital, unemployment benefits, compensation for food and recreation, as well as subsidies for housing. For example, a person who is not entitled to a payment may forge documents and try to arrange it.
Depending on the circumstances, the penalty for such a crime can reach 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 1 million rubles, explained lawyer and human rights activist Ekaterina Kutuzova.
A separate problem is presented by fraudsters who themselves contact citizens under the guise of government officials and offer to "make a payment" in order to receive bank card data, SMS codes or money, she said.
Attackers often use psychological techniques: they scare them by recalculating payments that have already been made or "hacking into their personal account," said Tatiana Golubeva, senior lecturer at the Department of Business, Labor and Corporate Law at the Presidential Academy. According to her, insufficient digital literacy of the population also plays into the hands of fraudsters.
Ekaterina Kutuzova believes that one of the reasons for the increase in identified cases may be an increase in the number and types of social benefits. At the same time, the effectiveness of detecting fraudulent activities increases. For example, the system of interdepartmental interaction does not allow receiving different benefits and payments on the same basis, explained Meri Valishvili, Associate Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Finance at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
The economic situation also affects citizens, the Internet Search company noted. In pursuit of easy money, people may become victims of scams more often. In addition, organized criminal groups are adapting to new technological realities. What used to be the lot of singles is now turning into a business model, they explained.
Izvestia sent a request to the Interior Ministry.
What are the most popular cheating schemes?
Several deception schemes are most common: specifying deliberately false information when applying for benefits or subsidies and using forged documents, Ekaterina Kutuzova said.
— Another option is fictitious recipients. For example, registration of allowances for non-existent children through the Gosuslugi portal. A similar method is to conceal the real income of a family in order to obtain low—income status and conclude a social contract," the Internet Search noted.
Scammers also offer intermediary services. Ads appear on popular sites promising to "help" arrange child benefits or pregnancy payments through "Public Services" for a fee. As a result, the victim either loses money or transfers personal data to the attackers.
Another common scenario is reports of allegedly introduced new subsidies. For example, by June 1, there are stories about payments for Children's Day and compensation for summer vacations, by May 9 — about payments to veterans, and in the fall and winter — about payments for medicines and medical care for pensioners, as well as compensation for vaccinations and medical examinations, told Izvestia in Moshelovka (project ONF).
There are also legends about new compensations for the participants of the SVO and their family members, large families and the elderly. Fraudsters come up with payment names based on the current news agenda in order to increase the confidence of a potential victim.
The attackers send emails and messengers, make phone calls, and introduce themselves as employees of Social funds, clinics, or government agencies. In addition, they create special channels on social networks and messengers, where they promise to publish information about new government support measures.
The message contains a link that supposedly needs to be clicked on in order to verify the right to payment. The user gets to a page visually similar to the Gosuslugi website, where they are asked to provide personal data, and sometimes payment details. After that, the information may end up with fraudsters. In addition, when clicking on such a link, malicious software may be installed on the device, Moshelovka said.
How to protect yourself from scammers
In order not to become a victim, payments should be made only through official services and departments, Ekaterina Kutuzova said.
At the same time, it is always possible to check whether a citizen has the right to a specific measure of social support, what documents are needed for its registration, and which agency is responsible for assigning payments, added Meri Valishvili from Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
— You should not click on suspicious links, tell outsiders the codes from SMS and bank card data, install unknown applications and pay for a "guaranteed receipt" of payment, — Ekaterina Kutuzova advised.
In addition, it is recommended to use antivirus software on a computer and smartphone and carefully study warnings from security services, Moshelovka reported. If the SMS code was nevertheless transmitted to the attackers, it is necessary to change the passwords for logging into Gosuslugi, banking and other applications as soon as possible, and also contact the police.
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