Law enforcement authorities in Siberia’s Novosibirsk region on Monday warned residents against taking part in what they described as fake photo contests allegedly organized by foreign intelligence services to gather sensitive information.
The Novosibirsk region branch of Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) said contest organizers are using social media platforms like Telegram to solicit photos of infrastructure sites such as bridges, railways, ferry lines and industrial plants. Participants are promised cash prizes.
The NAC claims the contests are a front for espionage and that those who share such images could face life in prison if convicted of passing state secrets to foreign entities.
“The real aim of the project’s organizers... is to collect information on regional infrastructure and provoke locals into sharing it with foreign entities, potentially compromising Russia’s national security,” the NAC said in a statement.
The agency did not name the foreign country allegedly behind the campaign.
The Moscow Times could not independently verify the claims.
The warning comes as Russia faces repeated Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside its territory, more than three years into the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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