Scammers Target Voters with Fake Electronic Voting via Messengers
Mothers are being targeted by a scam that falsely claims to offer electronic voting through messengers, with officials warning that no such voting exists and urging caution ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections.
Consensus
- Mothers are being targeted by scams involving fake electronic voting through messengers.
- The scam involves impersonating official organizations like 'household services'.
- The scam offers to allow voters to participate in electronic voting via messengers to avoid visiting polling stations.
- The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Russia has officially denied the existence of electronic voting through messengers.
- The CEC emphasized that neither Telegram nor Max (likely a typo for 'Mak' or 'Mak' as a reference to a messaging app) supports electronic voting.
- The scam is spreading across all regions, including those without official DЭГ (remote electronic voting).
- The 2026 parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 20, with 450 deputies to be elected.
Points of divergence
- The scam messages were reported to be sent to voters and members of election commissions in St. Petersburg. — vedomosti
- The scam is spreading beyond the 33 regions with DЭГ, including regions where DЭГ does not exist. — interfax
Coverage (2 sources)
- Pamfilova told about a new fraudulent scheme ahead of the elections — Ведомости
- In the RF, warned about a fraudulent scheme with voting through messengers — Интерфакс