A local resident in the Leningrad region lost 50 thousand rubles after a message appeared to be from a trusted friend. The incident was reported in coverage by IVBG.ru. The case highlights how social engineering via familiar contacts can lead to swift financial loss and how important it is to verify messages before acting.
The event unfolded on December 12 in Murino, when a woman received a chat message that seemed to come from a friend. The message carried a link described as a birthday photo album. The link did not lead to a legitimate page.
The woman clicked the link and attempted to open it several times, but the site failed to load. After the attempts, the link was no longer pursued. The next day she checked her bank app and found that the money had left her account, and two purchases showed up in a market she did not authorize.
Realizing something was wrong, she contacted the supposed friend and learned the friend had not sent any links. It turned out the Messenger account had been hacked, allowing the scam to look like a familiar conversation while steering the victim toward financial losses.
The victim, facing the loss of savings, reported the incident to the police for investigation and help in tracing the unauthorized transactions.
Earlier, a separate case from Moscow involved a retiree who was defrauded of almost 90 million rubles through a courier scam; the report underscores how fraudsters use social engineering and the pressure of time to encourage impulsive actions.
Experts warn that these schemes often begin with a compromised profile on a messaging app and rely on a sense of trust. The simplest defense is to pause before clicking, verify the sender through an alternate channel, and avoid sharing sensitive information. In addition, enable two-factor authentication on accounts, monitor bank activity daily, and report suspicious messages promptly.
People living in Canada and the United States should recognize that similar fraud patterns occur here, even if the details differ. Always scrutinize unexpected messages, especially those urging you to open links or enter credentials. If in doubt, contact the friend by a separate method and confirm whether a message came from them. Keep apps and devices updated, use strong unique passwords, and set up transaction alerts for banking apps and payment services.
If fraud is suspected, contact both the financial institution and local authorities and keep evidence such as screenshots of messages or transaction records. The broader lesson is to maintain healthy skepticism toward unusual requests that arrive via messaging apps, even when they appear to come from someone you know.