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- To play with passwords: Russians' accounts on "State services" were offered to be blocked
In Russia, they can introduce automatic temporary blocking of Russian accounts on "Public Services" while simultaneously changing at least two identification parameters — for example, a phone number and password. This will help protect your personal account if hackers have already gained access to it. Such an initiative, among others, was contained in a package of proposals from the Popular Front for a meeting with the president, Izvestia learned. Also, the "front-line soldiers" consider it necessary to automatically notify about the change of bank IDs. It is possible that the proposals will be taken into account when preparing amendments to the second reading of the government bill on combating Internet fraud, follows from the response of the press service of the Ministry of Finance to a request from Izvestia.
Why do I need to block accounts on Gosuslugi?
Telephone and Internet fraud in Russia has acquired unacceptable proportions, Vladimir Putin said on March 5 at a meeting with members of the government. One of the methods used by scammers is hacking into the account of citizens on "Public Services". Thanks to this, they not only receive a huge amount of personal information about a person, but they can also apply for a loan or loan, a tax deduction, and so on.
As Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov reported at the meeting, in 2024, 50,000 cases of fraudsters obtaining illegal access to personal accounts on "Public Services" were registered. He clarified: on their basis, scammers form personalized scenarios of attacks on citizens, especially on people from socially vulnerable categories.
In order to avoid negative consequences due to account hacking, the Popular Front (the meeting was attended by the head of the Executive Committee of the National Front Mikhail Kuznetsov) proposed two digital solutions. First, the temporary blocking of the account on Gosuslugi when changing two identification parameters, such as a phone number and password.
As a rule, when fraudsters gain access to their personal account, the first thing they do is change these parameters, said Evgenia Lazareva, project manager of the Popular Front For Borrowers' Rights, coordinator of the Moshelovka platform. This is necessary in order for full control of the account to pass from the user into their hands.
Now it is possible to block an account yourself if you suspect that it has been transferred to scammers, but for this you need to visit the MFC.
— And practice shows that not every victim instantly realizes that she has been deceived. For many, the process is delayed for several days. During this time, the attackers download data from the citizen's profile, use the capabilities of their personal account, upload forged documents, and so on," Evgenia Lazareva clarified.
Therefore, according to the Popular Front, people need to be protected by automatic temporary account blocking. If two identification parameters change immediately after logging into your personal account, then further use, downloading documents, and other actions will not be possible. This will prevent the risk of compromising a citizen's data and documents, the NF project manager noted. You will only be able to unlock your account upon a personal visit to the MFC, which will also be an additional protection measure.
Secondly, when changing several identifiers in the personal account on Gosuslugi, the front-line soldiers propose to introduce automatic notification of banks about this from the portal.
"This will significantly reduce the probability of success of fraudulent attacks, enable the market's anti—fraud systems to respond in a timely manner and enable their customer security tools,— explained Evgenia Lazareva.
According to her, these initiatives in the general package of proposals were prepared for the meeting held on March 5 with the president, and submitted to his administration for inclusion in the draft instructions following the results of the event.
—We very much hope that they will be adopted and implemented in a short time, taking into account the scale of the threat," said the representative of the NF.
What do the Ministry of Finance think about blocking
Experts interviewed by Izvestia suggested that if the initiatives are coordinated by all interested departments, they may be reflected in one form or another in the amendments to the second reading of the draft law on countering Internet fraud. The State Duma plans to consider it in the first reading next week.
— The Ministry of Finance is discussing measures to combat fraud with interested departments and organizations. In particular, we are working on the proposals of the Popular Front mentioned in the request. A number of the initiatives under discussion were included in the draft law on protecting citizens from cybercriminals. It has now been submitted to the State Duma. The details of the document are still being worked out, it can be changed by the second reading, " the ministry's press service told Izvestia.
At the same time, the department noted that the Gosuslugi portal regularly analyzes all possible threats. Based on this data, information security requirements are formed.
— In particular, the anti-fraud system is already working. If the user's behavior resembles that of scammers, the system may require additional data to be entered. For example, the date of receipt of the driver's license, the number of the registered house or information about the birth of the child, — the press service of the Ministry of Finance reported.
In addition, in case of suspicious user behavior, the system suspends access to services such as obtaining a 2-personal income tax statement and information from credit bureaus for 72 hours, and blocks the possibility of authorization through Gosuslugi on particularly sensitive resources such as MFIs websites or, for example, activation of the Goscluch mobile application.
The Ministry of Finance reminded about the personal responsibility of citizens. They emphasized:
You can change the number linked to your account only through online banking or at the MFC. It is impossible to hack "Public Services" with the help of external influence. However, scammers use various tricks to ensure that users themselves provide login information. You should always remain vigilant, carefully check the addresses of websites, senders of letters, and never tell anyone the login information for "Public Services".
Will temporary account blocking protect Russians?
The proposed measures to automatically block accounts on the Gosuslugi portal while changing several identification parameters are a timely step in the fight against fraud, says Nikita Kozinets, associate professor at Moscow State Pedagogical University and head of the Digital and Consumer Law educational program. He recalled that in 2024, fraudsters stole a record 27.5 billion rubles from Russians, often using access to citizens' personal accounts for this purpose.
— The main advantage of the initiative is the instant reaction of the system to suspicious actions, which prevents further use of the stolen account, — the expert commented. — Additional notification of banks about the change of identifiers in a citizen's personal account will enhance protection, reducing the likelihood of fraudulent financial transactions.
In general, the proposals are quite logical, and if implemented, they can become an important tool for countering intruders, agrees Mikhail Khachaturian, associate professor at the Department of Strategic and Innovative Development at the Financial University under the Government. Although not the only one, he added. In his opinion, the mechanism for combating fraud should be comprehensive, that is, include a significant amount of technical and technological means.
The temporary blocking proposal assumes that users will have the opportunity to detect hacking of their account and take the necessary measures to protect it, F6 experts noted. They believe that this measure may complicate the activities of fraudsters and partially protect citizens, but it will not eliminate the main problem — the compromise of personal data. In this regard, the initiative to inform banks about suspicious activities with accounts on "Public Services" looks important. They will be able to take this information into account when making decisions about granting loans.
However, F6 suggested that "everyday" cases of blockages cannot be ruled out. For example, when the user may forget the password when changing the phone number and will be blocked on the portal, and as a result he will have to go to the MFC. Restoring access through these centers can create inconveniences, especially in urgent situations, Nikita Kozinets supported. For example, if people live in the country all the time, Alexander Timofeev, Associate Professor of Economics at the Russian University of Economics, also drew attention. Nevertheless, he believes that the default lock can be introduced, especially for certain categories of citizens who are vulnerable to social engineering.
"Such cases will be clearly isolated,— Evgenia Lazareva objected. — In any case, a temporary inconvenience and a trip to the MFC, which are located within walking distance, is a small price to pay to protect yourself from the actions of scammers.
Nevertheless, the experts interviewed by Izvestia believe that the proposals have more advantages.
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