Banks in Russia repelled 16.1 million fraud attacks in Q3 2024

In the third quarter of 2024, banks protected customers from 16.1 million attacks of network fraudsters, preventing them from stealing Br4.9 trillion. This was reported by the Central Bank (CB) of Russia on December 9.

"In July - September 2024, banks repelled 16.1 million attacks of cyber fraudsters on customers' accounts and prevented them from stealing 4.9 trillion rubles. The volume of saved savings is three times higher than a year earlier," the regulator said in a statement on its website.

In addition, during the third quarter, the Central Bank organized the blocking of 12.1 thousand fraudulent sites and pages in social networks, as well as transferred 42.1 thousand phone numbers belonging to criminals to telecom operators.

At the same time, banks reported that fraudsters still managed to steal Br9.3 billion in July-September. Slightly more than 40% of crimes involved transfers and online banking, in contrast to earlier periods, when theft of funds occurred mainly in card transactions. That said, the number of losses recorded in Q3 was higher than the average of the previous four quarters.

Keeping an eye out: How Russians are being attacked by stalking programs

In 2024, 25% more people will face such surveillance

Earlier in the day, the Central Bank said that fraudsters have more often tried to deceive Russians by placing ads for attractive jobs or internships in government organizations, large companies or the Central Bank. Responding applicants are asked to fill out a questionnaire, from which the criminals obtain personal and banking information of the victims, and after a remote "interview" are asked to transfer money allegedly to sign an employment contract or install a fake application with a virus.