Prospect: telecom operators are proposed to be punished with rubles if they miss a scammer’s call

The introduction of children’s SIM cards, restrictions on the number of payment cards and the mandatory linking of citizens’ bank accounts to their TIN reduce the scope for fraudulent activities. Now it’s time to improve the mechanism for compensating Russians for funds written off from their bank accounts by criminals. Now this responsibility is assigned to the credit institution. However, the Central Bank considers it appropriate to hold telecom operators responsible for the theft of money if they neglect security measures and do not detect a fraudulent call in time. Such amendments to the government bill expanding measures to counter cybercriminals were supported by the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market. Details are in the material «Parliamentary newspaper».

New technologies and scammers

Today, almost all types of crimes in the financial sector are committed through various electronic equipment. The development of modern technologies, their general availability and growing popularity contribute to this trend. Powerful electronic tools, according to security officials, significantly simplify the commission of atrocities, providing a high level of anonymity.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, over the past five years there has been an increase in crimes committed using information and telecommunication technologies (ICT), as well as the emergence of new ways to implement them. In 2024 alone, over 380 thousand scams were registered in the country, including those involving electronic means of payment and in the field of computer information. The victims were 344.4 thousand people, who suffered damage in the amount of 188.7 billion rubles.

The bill developed by the Ministry of Digital Development includes two dozen measures designed to reduce the risks of cyber fraud and strengthen user security, Elina Simonyants, a representative of the Ministry of Digital Development and one of the developers of the amendments, explained at a committee meeting. Among them are ensuring interaction between telecom operators and banks using the state information system “Antifraud”, providing cellular companies with the opportunity to protect subscribers by identifying suspicious calls.

Serious changes are possible, says Victoria Nikitina, head of the methodology department of the information security department of the Central Bank.

First of all, we are talking about the compensation mechanism when writing off funds from the client’s bank accountshe noted. — Currently, only the banks are responsible.

At the same time, in accordance with the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation and the Chairman of the Government, it is reasonable to divide responsibility between the telecom operator and the bank.

If the operator did not transmit information for the bank about the fraudulent call to the Antifraud GIS, then he will bear full responsibility— Victoria Nikitina noted. — If the bank did not fulfill its obligations under the law, then it will bear responsibility. If both participants in the process violated their duties, then the responsibility will be in equal shares.

Strengthening anti-fraud requirements

The Duma Committee on the Financial Market agrees that telecom operators should bear joint financial responsibility with banks to clients if they missed a deliberately fraudulent call.

We will propose appropriate amendments to the second readingsaid the head of the committee, Anatoly Aksakov, to the Parliamentary Newspaper. — If the bank ignores the information received from the GIS about the suspicious number and carries out the operation, then if a criminal case is initiated for theft of funds, it will be obliged to compensate the victim for the entire amount of the transfer.

In addition, deputies supported other amendments of the Ministry of Digital Development, establishing requirements for the further development of a comprehensive system of protection against crimes using information technology.

In order to combat droppers, the number of cards per person will be limited to twenty in total and five in one bank,” Aksakov clarified. — Banks will be required to equip their applications with anti-virus protection to detect malware before the customer’s funds are debited. At the same time, telecom operators will send information about suspicious numbers, subscribers changing devices, and termination of contracts to the Antifraud GIS.

Another innovation concerns the Taxpayer Identification Number, which will become a mandatory account detail; clients will be identified by it in the Antidrop system. Among the key innovations of the project is the possibility of extrajudicial blocking of phishing sites that distribute malware and advertisements for the sale of uncertified mobile phones, as well as labeling of international calls. Calls from foreign numbers will be blocked from September 1, 2026, unless the subscriber has given consent to receive such calls, the head of the committee recalled.

We will most likely consider the bill in the first reading in February, before which we will carry out preliminary work with both the Ministry of Digital Development and the Central Bank. In addition, I am going to raise these questions during the upcoming report of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in the State Duma— Anatoly Aksakov promised.

Commenting on the relevance of the proposed measures to the Parliamentary Gazette, the press service of Rosfinmonitoring noted that, together with the Bank of Russia, they plan to make changes to the requirements for identification carried out by financial organizations when accepting persons for services: “According to the projected amendments, identification of foreign citizens and their subsequent financial services will be possible only if they provide foreign passports, and not national identity documents.”

source: «Parliamentary newspaper»

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