Fraudsters began disguised as IKEA employees to offer help in creating an order and even a discount from „store employees”, as a result, the victims lose money and share their data with the attackers. This was stated by Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank Stanislav Kuznetsov.

According to Kuznetsov, the scammers intensified after IKEA announced a sale before closing. Attackers, disguised as store employees, turn to customers on social networks and instant messengers with an offer to help them quickly and profitably place an order.

It is noted that the buyer-victim sends the scammer a link from a real site to the goods he wants to buy. In response, the attacker sends a link supposedly to a shopping cart, in which an „employee discount” is applied to the cost of the order. By clicking on the link, the victim enters the details of his bank card, as well as the code from the SMS message, confirming the operation of transferring funds to the fraudster’s card, and not the purchase in the store. As a result, the buyer is left without goods and without money.

Kuznetsov advised using the official app’s mobile app when buying, as it’s harder to hack.