Russian Services Ramp Up Defenses Against Scam Calls

Russia is facing a 15‑fold surge in scam calls from abroad, and banks like Sberbank are strengthening cloud‑based defenses to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated attackers.

Russian authorities and financial institutions are seeing a sharp uptick in fraudulent calls originating from overseas numbers. According to Sberbank, such calls have jumped fifteen‑fold, with scammers leveraging cloud‑based PBXs and internet telephony services to evade traditional blocking methods. The majority of these calls spoof European country codes, occasionally even mimicking familiar domestic prefixes — like “+84 95” — to trick unsuspecting recipients.

Despite this spike, foreign‑numbered calls still represent a relatively small portion of overall scam activity. However, experts warn of a worrying new trend: the mass creation of fake messenger and social‑media accounts. Criminals are either leasing or hacking profiles — including those of minors — to send messages that appear to come from trusted contacts, significantly raising the stakes for potential victims.

Security specialists advise consumers to ignore calls from unfamiliar numbers, especially those with foreign codes. If you don’t expect international contacts, there’s a high probability the call is fraudulent. Likewise, treat any unexpected offers in messaging apps with skepticism — even if they appear to come from friends or family, since those accounts may have been compromised.

Financial institutions and law‑enforcement agencies continue to upgrade their protective systems, but the most effective barrier remains user vigilance. As an extra layer of defense, users should:

• Contact the official call center of the purported organization whenever in doubt.

• Verify caller information via the bank’s official website or mobile app.

• Use built‑in smartphone features to block and flag unknown numbers.

• Keep antivirus and anti‑phishing apps on mobile devices up to date.