The Russian government has submitted to the State Duma a bill that would require telecom operators to suspend services and freeze money in subscriber accounts at the request of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the Federal Tax Service (FTS), the Federal Customs Service (FCS), or the Prosecutor's Office, as well as by court order.
Currently, subscribers can withdraw funds from their phone accounts or use them for online purchases, even if their bank accounts are frozen. This scheme, which allows withdrawing money from mobile numbers, is often used by fraudsters who have gained access to users' personal accounts. The legislative initiative aims to eliminate such loopholes.
It is worth mentioning that, according to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, in the third quarter of 2024, Russian banks recorded 348.6 thousand transactions made without the consent of clients — both individuals and legal entities. As a result, 9.3 billion rubles were stolen, which is a record figure for the last four years. In 98.6% of cases, it concerns thefts from individuals. For the entire year of 2023, the volume of transactions without the consent of citizens amounted to 15.3 billion rubles.
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