Since the beginning of 2025, telephone scammers in Russia have changed their tactics: now they are directing victims to take out loans from microfinance organizations (MFIs). The reason for switching to this scheme was 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 an armed 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
A new wave of phishing: attackers are masquerading as Google notifications
The army of droppers in Russia has grown to 2 million: scammers are changing tactics
