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Kaspersky Lab has discovered phishing sites related to the State Duma elections on September 18, 2026.
In one of the schemes, attackers try to gain access to users' accounts in a messenger, while the other is multi-stage and can continue over the phone.
Kaspersky Lab experts have discovered phishing sites where attackers are exploiting the 2026 State Duma elections. The specialists identified two scams. In the first, users are invited to take a pre-election survey for the chance to win a prize; in the second, they are supposedly invited to participate in online voting.
Survey with prizes. The first scheme invites users to complete a supposedly independent, anonymous survey before the elections. It consists of six questions, including whether they plan to vote. Completing the survey offers the chance to win one of over a hundred prizes, including smartphones, certificates from popular marketplaces, and cash rewards.
After answering the questions, the user is asked to register through a popular messaging app—supposedly to participate in a giveaway. To do this, they must provide their name and phone number and then receive a code. The attackers' goal is to gain access to the user's messaging account. The compromised account can then be used in other fraudulent schemes.
Fake online voting. In the second scenario, the user is asked to enter their passport number or SNILS (Individual Insurance Account Number) to supposedly proceed to online voting. A message then appears on the page claiming their government service account has been hacked and telling them to wait for a call from a "service employee." This scam moves from online to phone: the attackers can contact the user and continue the conversation under the pretext of hacking their account.
"Attackers regularly exploit current events and socially significant events that attract large numbers of people in their fraudulent schemes. In this case, we see two scenarios tailored to the election theme. In one, a person is lured with the possibility of winning a prize and lured into logging into a messenger; in the other, they are offered a supposed opportunity to vote online, then informed of an account hack and escalated the conversation to a phone call. Artificial intelligence was used to create the second discovered website template. Generative tools can simplify and accelerate content creation for such schemes. It's important to remember that a compelling page design alone doesn't guarantee its legitimacy.
In one of the schemes, attackers try to gain access to users' accounts in a messenger, while the other is multi-stage and can continue over the phone.
Kaspersky Lab experts have discovered phishing sites where attackers are exploiting the 2026 State Duma elections. The specialists identified two scams. In the first, users are invited to take a pre-election survey for the chance to win a prize; in the second, they are supposedly invited to participate in online voting.
Survey with prizes. The first scheme invites users to complete a supposedly independent, anonymous survey before the elections. It consists of six questions, including whether they plan to vote. Completing the survey offers the chance to win one of over a hundred prizes, including smartphones, certificates from popular marketplaces, and cash rewards.
After answering the questions, the user is asked to register through a popular messaging app—supposedly to participate in a giveaway. To do this, they must provide their name and phone number and then receive a code. The attackers' goal is to gain access to the user's messaging account. The compromised account can then be used in other fraudulent schemes.
Fake online voting. In the second scenario, the user is asked to enter their passport number or SNILS (Individual Insurance Account Number) to supposedly proceed to online voting. A message then appears on the page claiming their government service account has been hacked and telling them to wait for a call from a "service employee." This scam moves from online to phone: the attackers can contact the user and continue the conversation under the pretext of hacking their account.
"Attackers regularly exploit current events and socially significant events that attract large numbers of people in their fraudulent schemes. In this case, we see two scenarios tailored to the election theme. In one, a person is lured with the possibility of winning a prize and lured into logging into a messenger; in the other, they are offered a supposed opportunity to vote online, then informed of an account hack and escalated the conversation to a phone call. Artificial intelligence was used to create the second discovered website template. Generative tools can simplify and accelerate content creation for such schemes. It's important to remember that a compelling page design alone doesn't guarantee its legitimacy.