The State Duma allowed Russia to ban receiving SMS during a call

Russia may introduce a ban on receiving SMS messages during a call to counteract telephone fraud. This was announced by the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications Sergei Boyarsky on Thursday, February 13.

He emphasized that fraudsters want to get the digits from the password code that is sent to a person via SMS.

"By dictating these digits, a person grants criminals access to his account, and in essence - hands over the keys to his digital life. In the proposed changes, receiving an SMS during a phone call will become impossible. The SMS will reach the subscriber after he hangs up the phone," the Moscow city news agency quoted the parliamentarian as saying.

Boyarsky emphasized that the committee together with the Russian government will continue to develop mechanisms to counteract telephone fraud.

Earlier in the day "Izvestia" wrote with reference to VTB data that in January the number of fraudulent schemes related to phishing and offers to earn money on the Internet, increased by 50% compared to December 2024.

According to the credit organization, one of the most noticeable trends was the expansion of phishing schemes. At the beginning of 2025, Russians more often encountered fake online stores that offer goods at a favorable price and accompany the transaction with formal details - send fake order numbers, offer agreements and other supporting documents. After payment, the fraudsters stop contacting and the site is deleted.

Fraudsters deceive Russians in the virtual world. What you need to know

On the eve, the Russian Interior Ministry warned that frequent calls under the pretext of "updating an account" on the "Gosusgoservices" portal come only from fraudsters, RT reports. Law enforcers explained that real employees of the portal will never call citizens on such a matter, as it is economically and organizationally unrealizable. To call more than 110 million users of "Gosuslugi" in a month would require about 7.5 thousand operators, reports NSN.