Photo: Iuliia Pilipeichenko / Shutterstock / Fotodom
A new scam is targeting Russians, with fraudsters calling potential victims under the guise of telecom operators and offering to test an «exclusive service.» Anton Nemkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, revealed details of this emerging scheme in an interview with Life.ru.
According to Nemkin, the scammers contact individuals, falsely claiming their phone number has been specially selected to participate in a new service trial. They often emphasize that the offer is time-limited and presents unique benefits, assuring the person that the service is completely free of charge.
The crucial step in this deception involves asking the subscriber to read out a code sent via SMS to «activate» the service. However, as Nemkin highlighted, this code is actually used by the criminals to hijack the subscriber`s personal account, thereby gaining control over their phone number.
The parliamentarian noted that these fraudulent calls can be delivered by either human operators or automated voice systems. He added, «In some instances, criminals employ social engineering tactics, impersonating technical support personnel and falsely claiming the code is necessary to `cancel an erroneous charge` or provide `protection against hacking`.»
Nemkin strongly advised the public that legitimate telecom providers and banks will never request SMS verification codes over the phone. He urged Russians to hang up immediately if they receive such a call asking for a code.
Earlier reports have also highlighted other recent scam trends, including fraudsters impersonating university staff to deceive prospective students into clicking phishing links that mimic the State Services (Gosuslugi) website.
Furthermore, it was reported that in the second quarter of 2025, scammers significantly increased their attacks on Russians seeking employment, frequently inviting job seekers to participate in fraudulent online interviews.
