Russians were informed about a new scheme for stealing accounts through housing chats.

      Russians have begun to receive mass invitations to housing chats on behalf of management companies, in order to extract SMS codes through trust and gain full access to personal accounts on the "Gosuslugi" portal.

      Fraudsters have once again changed their tactics: instead of aggressive calls from "law enforcement agencies," they have switched to a more subtle psychological game, using everyday issues of housing and communal services. TASS reported on the new threat gaining momentum in messengers, as stated by State Duma deputy Ilya Wolfson. According to the parliamentarian, the perpetrators deliberately exploit everyday topics that trigger people's "autopilot of trust." The victim receives a message from an alleged employee of the management company, who addresses them by name and patronymic and invites them to join a neighborhood chat to discuss communal issues. At first glance, this harmless offer does not raise alarm, but it is at this moment that citizens are asked to follow a link or dictate the received confirmation code. "Modern deception is dangerous not because of the complexity of technologies, but because of how closely it approaches our everyday life," Wolfson noted, emphasizing that the main weapon of fraudsters today is not fear, but ordinary human carelessness.

      If access to the account has already been lost, the deputy recommends acting quickly and following a clear algorithm. The first step is to block the profile through the bank's mobile app or visit the MFC in person. Then, it is advisable to immediately "clean up" the account: delete phone numbers and email addresses that could have been linked by fraudsters, as well as revoke all suspicious consents given without the owner's knowledge. Wolfson advises paying special attention to the security of real estate. To prevent fraudsters from transferring ownership of an apartment using a fake power of attorney or electronic signature, he suggests setting up a special "barrier" on the portal. For this, it is enough to find the service for entering a record in the Unified State Register of Real Estate (EGRN) about the impossibility of registering rights without the owner's personal participation on "Gosuslugi." The procedure takes only a few minutes, but from that moment on, the Rosreestr will automatically reject any documents until the owner appears in person with their passport.

      Alongside technical protection, the deputy strongly recommends contacting the police with a statement about unauthorized access to computer information. In the statement, it is important to detail the chronology of events: who wrote, what link was offered, and what data was entered. The key document in this situation will be the notification receipt with the KUSP number, which will officially record the fact that all suspicious operations were indeed conducted by the fraudsters.