Russia Blocks 38.7 Million Fraud Attempts in Q2 2025

Cybercriminals are getting faster, smarter, and bolder — and Russian banks are scrambling to keep up with increasingly sophisticated scams

In the second quarter of 2025, Russian banks intercepted a record 38.7 million fraudulent transactions — a 50 percent jump compared to the average over the previous four quarters, according to the Central Bank of Russia. Officials say criminals are doubling down on social engineering, phishing, and malware, including new iterations of NFCGate. Experts warn that while the tech is evolving, the biggest threat still comes from psychological manipulation of victims.

One of the most dangerous trends is the so-called “reverse NFCGate” attack, where criminals create a clone of their own payment card on a victim’s device. The twist: any cash the victim deposits at an ATM is automatically routed to the scammer’s account. Phishing campaigns are also surging, with fake banking and messaging app domains increasing 3.6-fold.

In response, banks are rolling out early-warning systems that analyze customer behavior, flag suspicious calls, and monitor background app activity. Additional authentication tools — including trusted-device verification — are helping reduce the risk of stolen credentials.

Cybersecurity experts advise users to double-check any unexpected calls or messages, never share passwords or security codes, and enable two-factor authentication to stay ahead of the latest scam wave.