As the new school year nears, online fraudsters intensify their efforts with convincing fake shop sites and manipulative tactics to lure parents into costly traps, raising urgent concerns over consumer safety.
With the new school year approaching, online fraudsters are stepping up a familiar trick: fake shops offering school supplies at prices that look almost impossibly low. Speaking to Lenta.ru, IT expert Sergei Shcherbakov said the goal is to exploit parents’ desire to save time and money, drawing them in with steep discounts and a sense of urgency.
Shcherbakov said scammers often push people to act quickly by using countdown timers, limited-stock warnings and links spread through social media. They also try to make bogus websites look convincing, even though tell-tale signs often remain visible, including spelling mistakes, missing company details, unusual domain names and suspicious payment pages. Reuters-style consumer warnings from groups and state bodies in the US echo the same advice: if a deal looks far better than those offered by reputable retailers, it is worth treating it with suspicion.
The main risk is not simply losing money on a worthless order. Fake checkout pages can be used to steal card details and intercept text-message verification codes, while fraudsters may ask for direct transfers to personal bank cards or through fast-payment systems rather than using proper secure gateways. Maria Ivatkina, an expert with the Russian Finance Ministry-backed MyFinances project, told Gazeta.Ru that a lock symbol or https prefix only shows that a connection is encrypted, not that the site itself is genuine.
Ivatkina added that shoppers should avoid shortened links, type official web addresses manually and use extra protection such as two-factor authentication. She also advised keeping an отдельная card with a spending limit for online purchases and never sharing full card details or secret confirmation codes in chats or by phone. The Russian central bank has already warned that fraud attempts tend to intensify in the run-up to 1 September, a pattern that consumer groups in other countries say is typical of back-to-school season.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
