Over the past year, telephone scammers have swindled Russian citizens out of more than 100 billion rubles, masquerading as false support for the Ukrainian army. Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank Stanislav Kuznetsov reported that since the beginning of 2024, the damage to Russians from telephone scams has amounted to 250 billion rubles, and about 40% of these funds, according to law enforcement agencies, were directed to allegedly finance the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

Fraudsters, using various schemes, called citizens and under various pretexts lured money. According to Kuznetsov, fraudsters professionally use social engineering methods, forcing citizens to transfer large sums through telephone and Internet channels. Particularly dangerous are calls from fake numbers that look like calls from banks or official structures.

According to experts, telephone fraud has recently become more widespread, and the fraud schemes are becoming more complex and sophisticated. Fraudsters not only pretend to be representatives of financial institutions, but also create entire scenarios to convince their victims of the authenticity of their intentions.