Fraud emails exploit Yandex outages to demand fake delivery payments

Fraudsters are using reports of Yandex service outages as a pretext for phishing emails to Russian companies, cybersecurity firm F6 warned on October 14. The messages impersonate government agencies and request payment for delivering purported official documents.

According to F6’s account, the emails resemble inspection notices or administrative orders. A QR code leads recipients towards a supposed delivery payment of 400–600 roubles and asks for the recipient’s name and address. The company says the money goes to fraudsters.

The messages refer to internet problems and tell recipients to try Google if a page will not open through Yandex. That explanation forms part of the fraudulent communication, rather than an official instruction.

Yandex separately warned the previous day about emails impersonating Yandex Cloud and urging recipients to open attachments for an alleged urgent migration or account block. The two warnings concern different pretexts using the company’s name.