The government commission on legislative activity will soon consider a package of amendments aimed at strengthening the fight against cyber fraud. According to the document, which contains several dozen measures, it is planned to amend a significant number of laws and regulations. On February 8, the Kremlin published an order from the Russian president, in which the government, the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are instructed to develop measures to block criminal calls coming from the territory of Ukraine and other unfriendly countries.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko confirmed to RBC the development of amendments and noted that a detailed analysis of the most common fraudulent schemes, such as telephone and Internet fraud, hacking of personal accounts, and registration of loans on other people's passports, has been carried out. According to him, the prepared measures will allow citizens to protect themselves from such threats.
The document provides for a ban on the use of foreign messengers in official communications by employees of government agencies, credit institutions, the Central Bank, telecom operators, owners of social networks, marketplaces and service aggregators. The list of such messengers will be compiled by Roskomnadzor. The use of Russian messengers for official purposes will be possible only after identification of the person through the Unified Identification and Authentication System (UIAS). Mandatory identification of users of marketplaces and aggregators with an audience of more than 200 thousand people before posting advertisements for the sale of goods or services is also proposed.
Among other proposed measures:
mandatory labeling of calls from organizations, international numbers and virtual PBXs with information displayed on the phone screen;
the ability for subscribers of mobile operators to refuse advertising and spam calls;
a ban on sending identification codes to the UIAS during telephone conversations;
access of government agencies to the data of telecom operators during operational and investigative activities;
a ban on the import, sale, storage and use of foreign satellite terminals restricted in Russia or the EAEU;
the possibility of pre-trial blocking of sites disseminating information about the illegal use of such devices;
mandatory biometric identification for obtaining statements from credit bureaus and remotely obtaining microloans;
the ability to set a ban on concluding a contract for cellular services without personal presence through "Gosuslugi";
the introduction of biometric authorization on a voluntary basis for banks, telecom operators, marketplaces and social networks.
A representative of the Ministry of Digital Development emphasized that the developed measures are aimed exclusively at combating fraudsters and will not have a negative impact on law-abiding citizens. It is expected that they will be implemented in 2025-2026. One of the sources told RBC that the commission on legislative activity may consider the package as early as February 10.
The explanatory note to the document cites data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, according to which the number of crimes related to the use of information and communication technologies increased by 30% in 2023, exceeding 677 thousand cases. Over the first nine months of 2024, this figure increased by 16.4%, reaching 564 thousand crimes. A fifth of the crimes are related to thefts from bank accounts. The most common schemes include calls on behalf of banks and law enforcement agencies, fraud with online ads, microloans, hacking of social media accounts and phishing sites. In 71% of criminal cases, the investigation is suspended due to the inability to identify the accused, since the fraudsters use SIM cards and accounts issued to fictitious persons.
The authors of the document expect that online information exchange between government agencies, banks and digital platforms will allow for the prompt identification of suspicious activities, blocking them and reporting them to law enforcement agencies. The ban on the use of foreign instant messengers for official communication is explained by the increase in fraudulent calls through these platforms.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko confirmed to RBC the development of amendments and noted that a detailed analysis of the most common fraudulent schemes, such as telephone and Internet fraud, hacking of personal accounts, and registration of loans on other people's passports, has been carried out. According to him, the prepared measures will allow citizens to protect themselves from such threats.
The document provides for a ban on the use of foreign messengers in official communications by employees of government agencies, credit institutions, the Central Bank, telecom operators, owners of social networks, marketplaces and service aggregators. The list of such messengers will be compiled by Roskomnadzor. The use of Russian messengers for official purposes will be possible only after identification of the person through the Unified Identification and Authentication System (UIAS). Mandatory identification of users of marketplaces and aggregators with an audience of more than 200 thousand people before posting advertisements for the sale of goods or services is also proposed.
Among other proposed measures:
mandatory labeling of calls from organizations, international numbers and virtual PBXs with information displayed on the phone screen;
the ability for subscribers of mobile operators to refuse advertising and spam calls;
a ban on sending identification codes to the UIAS during telephone conversations;
access of government agencies to the data of telecom operators during operational and investigative activities;
a ban on the import, sale, storage and use of foreign satellite terminals restricted in Russia or the EAEU;
the possibility of pre-trial blocking of sites disseminating information about the illegal use of such devices;
mandatory biometric identification for obtaining statements from credit bureaus and remotely obtaining microloans;
the ability to set a ban on concluding a contract for cellular services without personal presence through "Gosuslugi";
the introduction of biometric authorization on a voluntary basis for banks, telecom operators, marketplaces and social networks.
A representative of the Ministry of Digital Development emphasized that the developed measures are aimed exclusively at combating fraudsters and will not have a negative impact on law-abiding citizens. It is expected that they will be implemented in 2025-2026. One of the sources told RBC that the commission on legislative activity may consider the package as early as February 10.
The explanatory note to the document cites data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, according to which the number of crimes related to the use of information and communication technologies increased by 30% in 2023, exceeding 677 thousand cases. Over the first nine months of 2024, this figure increased by 16.4%, reaching 564 thousand crimes. A fifth of the crimes are related to thefts from bank accounts. The most common schemes include calls on behalf of banks and law enforcement agencies, fraud with online ads, microloans, hacking of social media accounts and phishing sites. In 71% of criminal cases, the investigation is suspended due to the inability to identify the accused, since the fraudsters use SIM cards and accounts issued to fictitious persons.
The authors of the document expect that online information exchange between government agencies, banks and digital platforms will allow for the prompt identification of suspicious activities, blocking them and reporting them to law enforcement agencies. The ban on the use of foreign instant messengers for official communication is explained by the increase in fraudulent calls through these platforms.