OREANDA-NEWS. Kaspersky Lab has discovered a fraudulent scam scheme operating under the guise of a New Year's prize drawing from major Russian retailers, the company said.

Kaspersky Lab has recorded a scam scheme with a fake New Year's drawing of cash prizes from large Russian retailers. In order to receive a generous reward, the user must complete a small survey - ostensibly to improve the quality of service in stores, "- said in the message.

In the laboratory, they found out that in some mailings scammers offer to win up to 500 thousand rubles, in others - up to a million. To become a participant in the New Year's drawing, Russians are invited to answer simple questions, as well as send a message about the action to several contacts. Thus, the scheme covers more people.

At the last stage, the scammers ask victims to transfer one ruble for access to the raffle database. Since the amount is symbolic, the victims quite often go for it, and the fraudsters get their bank card details, which allow them to steal much more.

"Now cybercriminals are actively exploiting the theme of the upcoming New Year holidays. Relying on users' carelessness, they often disguise themselves as well-known brands and promise users large cash prizes for simple actions," said Tatyana Shcherbakova, senior content analyst at Kaspersky Lab, whose words are quoted in the message.