Li Auto owners in Russia suffered master account thefts
Li Auto car owners in Russia are facing cyberattacks linked to the theft of their master accounts. After an account is hacked, drivers may lose access to certain vehicle features, or even the ability to start the car.
Li Auto owners in Russia face master account thefts
Russians who purchased Chinese Li Auto crossovers have faced a wave of master account thefts. Once an account is hacked, the vehicles may lose some of their functions: screens go dark, climate control stops working, and in some cases, the car cannot be started at all.
According to the publication, cybercriminals gain control over the vehicle's master account, which essentially serves as a digital control key. After that, they contact the car owner and demand money to restore access to the account. At least 20 victims are currently known, but their actual number could be significantly higher.
At present, fraudsters are demanding 35,000–45,000 rubles to return an account. In the first wave of such attacks observed in the summer of 2025, the requested ransom reached 200,000–250,000 rubles.
A specific feature of the new scheme is that hackers are attacking accounts on the eSender service — the exact service through which car owners use Chinese phone numbers when registering a master account. In this process, even users who paid for the number are losing access to the system.
Sinomach Auto, the official distributor of Li Auto in Russia, confirmed the existence of the problem. According to the company, the Chinese manufacturer, together with its Russian partner, is developing mechanisms to protect accounts and restore access rights for legitimate owners.
It is also planned to introduce a procedure for confirming car ownership and to transfer authorization from Chinese phone numbers to email. The exact same system is already operating in Li Auto vehicles belonging to the 2026 model lineup.
Representatives of Sinomach Auto stated that the timeline for implementing the new solutions has not yet been specified.
Li Auto owners are advised to regularly update their passwords, not to share verification codes and master account data with strangers, and to monitor the validity period of the Chinese phone number. In the event of losing access to the account, it is necessary to contact the company's support service and log the incident.