Scammers are now calling Russian citizens, pretending to be representatives of telecom operators, and offering potential victims the chance to test an exclusive service. State Duma committee member for information policy, technologies, and communication, Anton Nemkin, warned about this new scheme used by criminals in an interview with Life.ru.
According to the deputy, fraudsters tell the caller that their number has supposedly been chosen to participate in testing a new service. During the conversation, the perpetrators might claim the offer is limited and emphasize its supposed exclusivity and that the service is free for the subscriber.
To “activate” the service, the subscriber is asked to provide a code received via SMS. However, Nemkin stressed that scammers actually use this obtained code to gain access to the subscriber`s personal account and take control of their phone number.
The parliamentarian added that these deceptive calls can originate from either a person or a robot. “In some cases, criminals use social engineering, pretending to be technical support and convincing victims that the code is needed to `cancel a mistaken charge` or `protect against hacking`,” Nemkin pointed out.
The deputy assured that legitimate telecom operators and banks never request SMS codes over the phone. He urged Russians to hang up immediately if they receive such a call.
Earlier reports indicated that scammers began targeting university applicants, posing as university staff. These fraudsters persuaded individuals to click on phishing links leading to fake duplicates of the “Gosuslugi” (State Services) website.
Furthermore, it became known that in the second quarter of 2025, scammers started widely attacking Russians looking for work. Specifically, job seekers were invited to fake online interviews.
