- Статьи
- Society
- Getting an appointment: how scammers deceive applicants when applying to universities
Getting an appointment: how scammers deceive applicants when applying to universities
Fraudsters are massively deceiving applicants and their parents, cybersecurity experts have warned. They lure prospective students to fake university websites, fake payment pages, and make phone calls disguised as employees of educational institutions. Izvestia found out which schemes are used in 2025 and how to protect against them.
How scammers deceive applicants
In Russia, there has been a surge in fraud related to university admissions. The applicants themselves and their parents become victims, Ekaterina Edemskaya, a cyber expert and analytical engineer at Gazinformservice, told Izvestia.
— One of the new schemes is calls on behalf of the Ministry of Education or examiners. Parents are offered to urgently register their child on a certain "USE portal", they are required to provide an SMS code and then get access to accounts and personal data, says Edemskaya.
Other schemes include sending fake messages on behalf of the rector or university staff with a request to confirm the data or provide personal information. They also offer to submit an electronic application for admission to the university.
— The attackers ask you to follow a phishing link, where you will need to verify your identity through Telegram or other portals. If the victim enters the information, the scammers will disappear along with the personal data they received and the stolen profile," adds Alexander Vurasko, Director of Development at the Solar AURA External Digital Threat Monitoring Center, Solar Group.
Schemes for admission to universities have replaced the deceptions associated with passing the Unified State Exam. According to the data of the Solar Group provided to Izvestia, in 2025 there was a surge in such attempts by 30% compared to last year. Schools in the Central Federal District led the ranking in terms of the number of attempts to access malicious resources (up to 620.5 million requests were blocked during the Unified State Exam), Siberia (access to 197.6 million resources was restricted) and the Volga Region (180.5 million requests, respectively).
Schemes with "help" at admission
Fraudsters use many ways to deceive applicants, lawyer Sean Betrozov tells Izvestia. Most of them are aimed at supposedly "helping" with admission, but this leads to loss of money, and sometimes to criminal liability.
For example, criminals can promise a school graduate a targeted referral and enrollment according to a quota. In this case, parents are offered to conclude an agreement with a certain organization, which allegedly can provide a budget place at a university for money. In fact, a person receives forged documents — their use leads to a refusal of admission or even a criminal case.
— Fraudsters also sell diplomas and certificates that allegedly confirm Olympic victories and other achievements and give additional points. After paying for registration, the participant is given a diploma that is not recognized by the Ministry of Education. The consequences are the same as in the previous scheme," the lawyer notes.
Another common trick, which is also found this year, is calls or messages from alleged admissions officers offering "guaranteed budget place", "increment of USE scores" or scores for internal exams. In fact, the family either transfers money and loses it, or goes to a fake website and loses data, including payment data, adds cyber expert Ekaterina Edemskaya.
Finally, under the guise of university staff, attackers can offer tutoring services — with or without a guarantee of admission, with "increased chances." As a result, classes may not take place at all or may be conducted formally, and the applicant does not receive any privileges in the end. Moreover, his family may lose a large sum if the parents are asked to pay for a package of classes immediately.
Schemes with fake websites
A lot of tricks are connected with fake websites of educational institutions. Through them, criminals collect personal data and can steal applicants' money. Fake pages related to payments or installment offers for studies are especially relevant, Alexander Vurasko notes.
— In case of a real successful admission, scammers on behalf of the university offer to apply in advance for a scholarship or accommodation in a dormitory — such cases have already been recorded by Solar AURA experts. This requires allegedly "updating" personal data on the university's website, also using a fake link and authorization through various government portals. This is how hackers gain access to user profiles," says Vurasco.
Hackers also use malware that enters the system when a user downloads a file from a fake resource disguised as a legitimate one: for example, a PDF with competition lists, admission rules, or semester fees. They use such methods to further attack in order to compromise personal data.
Ways to protect your data from fraudsters
In order to protect yourself from cybercriminals, experts urge you to follow several rules. Firstly, do not follow questionable links received by phone or via messengers — official institutions do not request data in this way.
— Secondly, it is important to check all information through official sources, such as university websites or Public Services. In case of doubt, it is better to contact the university admissions committee directly," advises Ekaterina Edemskaya.
Additionally, she recommends installing two-factor authentication on all accounts where important data is stored ("Public Services", personal accounts on university websites). This will help to increase the level of security and make it more difficult for fraudsters to access your account. When going to the university's website and any actions on it, you should make sure that the resource is real.
— It is important to understand that scammers always apply through unofficial channels, put pressure on applicants and their parents, and promise results that contradict the law. In case of doubt, it is necessary to consult representatives of the educational organization or a lawyer. It is almost impossible to prove the correctness after the transfer of funds," says lawyer Sean Betrozov.
If a person has already been a victim of fraud, the lawyer recommends contacting law enforcement agencies. However, it is important to understand that in some cases — for example, if an applicant wanted to "buy" a budget place at a university — he himself may face responsibility. Actions to pay for such services can be considered as giving a bribe, which threatens criminal liability under Article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
In case of a particularly large bribe (over 1 million), the act is punishable by a fine of 2-4 million rubles or in the amount of the convicted person's salary for a period of two to four years. A fine of 70 to 90 times the amount of the bribe may also be imposed, or even imprisonment for a term of eight to 15 years.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
