IPhone X sales started in Russia only yesterday, but the excitement around new Apple gadgets began to gain momentum a few days ago. So, near the Apple store on Tverskaya, a long queue lined up in advance, places in which were eventually sold for tens of thousands of rubles. Immediately after the start of sales, messages about the sale of the iPhone 13 began to appear on social networks immediately, and, according to media reports, in some cases the price reached almost a million rubles. For those who do not have such a budget, there are more modest offers, for example, you can buy a box from the iPhone 13 or rent it for a photo shoot.
Also, the excitement, of course, did not bypass the network, and has already attracted the attention of scammers. Group-IB experts warn that scammers have already launched more than 500 sites offering to buy new Apple devices. Of course, in reality, no iPhones are sold on such sites; attackers simply collect prepayments from gullible users, sell fake smartphones, steal users' confidential data, or even distribute malware in this way.
According to Group-IB, the revenue of one such iPhone X fraudulent site could be as high as $ 68,000. Experts estimate the total potential damage from these sites at $ 34 million.
For example, one of the fraudulent schemes involves 100% payment for the iPhone X through the website, and the cost of the smartphone is about 30% lower than the cost in the official Apple store. To “place an order”, the victim is asked to indicate his full name, email, phone number and residential address - after that, the user receives an e-mail with information about the order and a proposal to transfer money to the card through online banking or an electronic wallet. After the user has completed the above procedure, he will no longer be able to contact the seller.
In the summer of 2021, the same group of cybercriminals launched at least 11 sites using this scheme. “The monthly audience of one site is about six thousand users. With a conversion rate of 1% and a price of $ 1,200 per unit of goods, one such site can bring fraudsters more than $ 68,000 a month, ”the experts explain.
Also, the excitement, of course, did not bypass the network, and has already attracted the attention of scammers. Group-IB experts warn that scammers have already launched more than 500 sites offering to buy new Apple devices. Of course, in reality, no iPhones are sold on such sites; attackers simply collect prepayments from gullible users, sell fake smartphones, steal users' confidential data, or even distribute malware in this way.
According to Group-IB, the revenue of one such iPhone X fraudulent site could be as high as $ 68,000. Experts estimate the total potential damage from these sites at $ 34 million.
For example, one of the fraudulent schemes involves 100% payment for the iPhone X through the website, and the cost of the smartphone is about 30% lower than the cost in the official Apple store. To “place an order”, the victim is asked to indicate his full name, email, phone number and residential address - after that, the user receives an e-mail with information about the order and a proposal to transfer money to the card through online banking or an electronic wallet. After the user has completed the above procedure, he will no longer be able to contact the seller.
In the summer of 2021, the same group of cybercriminals launched at least 11 sites using this scheme. “The monthly audience of one site is about six thousand users. With a conversion rate of 1% and a price of $ 1,200 per unit of goods, one such site can bring fraudsters more than $ 68,000 a month, ”the experts explain.
