MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. After voice calls in WhatsApp (owned by Meta, banned in Russia) and Telegram in Russia were restricted, charlottans thought up a new sophisticated chat group scam, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Sergey Boyarsky told a news conference.

"Now that WhatsApp and Telegram calls have become unavailable, scammers have moved to creating fake chat rooms there. The chats disguise themselves as being for businesses, residential buildings, and so on. The scheme is as follows: you enter, you are added to this chat, you see familiar people there. Because scammers know a lot about you, they are preparing for this attack. You see your neighbor, a security guard, a concierge there, they communicate with each other, you let your guard down, and that’s how they get you," Boyarsky said.

According to him, after that the scammers ask you to send confirmation codes or other data via the chat. They give the appearance that everyone in the chat fulfills this request to make you feel like you have to do the same, the deputy noted.

"Therefore, when you are added to a chat, even if you seem to see familiar people there, be sure to call at least one of them, make sure that this chat is legitimate," Boyarsky added.