The expert told the Russians about the actions of scammers with other people's SNILS numbers

Fraudsters can use the SNILS number in combination with other data in various schemes. Olga Leonova, Associate Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Finance at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, told the Prime news agency on March 30.

Fraudsters, using the SNILS number, can log into someone else's account on the public services portal and block access to its owner. Then they get access to other data in their personal account, for example, income statements. They can be used to increase the credit limit.

Before the account owner has time to change the password, fraudsters can access other websites through authorization on Gosuslugi and apply for several loans or request a tax deduction through the website of the Federal Tax Service (FTS) to their accounts.

Fraudsters can also use SNILS to call the owner and, posing as employees of the Social Fund, extort additional data. Fraudsters can use the SNILS number to register electronic wallets or accounts in financial services, which allows fraudsters to hide their tracks when conducting illegal transactions.

"It is important to note that SNILS can be used to apply for loans, if fraudsters have additional information, such as your passport, they can apply for a microloan. If you use the services of a particular bank to receive a salary or pension, the risks increase, as such banks are more likely to approve the loan," Leonova said.

According to her, SNILS can be requested from the Social Fund of Russia (SFR) when applying for a pension or receiving an insurance contribution statement. At Gosuslugi, SNILS are needed to confirm identity and provide public services. Employers need it for employment and for deductions to the SFR. The police may request SNILS for identification if you do not have a passport with you, Leonova noted.

"SNILS are not checked on the street or on the phone. Such requests may be an attempt at fraud," the lawyer concluded.

On March 22, Elman Mehdiyev, the founder of the Kredchek service, gave advice to parents who decided to issue a bank card to a child. For example, parents should analyze their child's expenses and income together with their child and link the analysis to the goals they would like to achieve.