Since the beginning of 2025, telephone scammers in Russia have changed their tactics: they now direct victims to take out loans from microfinance organizations (MFIs). The reason for switching to this scheme is the strengthening of security systems in the banking sector — now it is much more difficult to carry out thefts through banking applications.
Sberbank notes that the effectiveness of their fraud prevention system has reached 99.9%, and other major banks have also strengthened security measures. As a result, attackers have switched to schemes involving cash withdrawals and robberies, including through MFIs. It is easier to get money from there than from a bank, although the amounts are smaller.
Sometimes, criminals bring the victim to complete financial exhaustion, and then, under pressure, force them to commit a robbery on an MFI in order to transfer the money to the scammers. Such actions qualify as a crime, and the attacker himself is responsible for them, the bank emphasizes.
Read more on the topic:
The Ministry of Internal Affairs named a proven way to scare away a fraudster
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The army of droppers in Russia has grown to 2 million: scammers are changing tactics
