The Interior Ministry urged not to give in to provocations with calls to commit a crime

The Russian Interior Ministry on Thursday, December 26, urged citizens not to give in to provocations calling to commit a crime.

"The Russian Interior Ministry urges citizens to increase vigilance and not to make contact with unknown interlocutors by phone or through other means of communication. If it happened, to treat critically any information received from them, to double-check it through official sources," the agency's website says.

There have been increasing cases of deliberate arson and bombings of administrative buildings and police cars, as well as attempts to destabilize banks and post offices in a number of regions. In the period from December 18 to 26, 55 such crimes were recorded, 44 people were detained, including mostly elderly people and pensioners, as well as young people who succumbed to easy money.

Attackers lured people into crimes through anonymous handlers, using three schemes: promising money for crimes, offering to "return" what they had stolen through arson and bombings, or intimidating criminal cases by demanding criminal actions to "avoid punishment".

According to the Interior Ministry, Ukrainian special services are behind this, using psychological influence to involve citizens in illegal activities.

The law enforcement agencies are investigating the facts of the crimes committed. Criminal cases have been opened against the perpetrators of arson and bombings, and they may face up to 20 years in prison.

Burnable sum: who is behind the arson attacks on ATMs in Russia

The number of such attacks committed under the influence of social engineering increased by 30% on New Year's Eve

Over the past week there have been several similar incidents: On December 24 in the center of Moscow a man tried to set fire to a police car, on December 21 a girl blew up an ATM in a branch of Sberbank, and on December 18 in Pskov a girl under psychological pressure set fire to a car.