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- Door reception: the number of fake calls under the guise of replacing the intercom has tripled
Door reception: the number of fake calls under the guise of replacing the intercom has tripled
The introduction of fraud protection systems by the government and business has not helped enough — the attackers are coming up with new tricks and ways to circumvent the restrictions. So, by July, the number of fake calls under the guise of replacing the intercom had tripled. By coaxing out an SMS code, fraudsters gain access to accounts on Gosuslugi and other services in order to apply for loans to victims. Why anti-fraud measures did not work and how to protect yourself and your loved ones — in the Izvestia article.
How scammers found a new way to circumvent anti-fraud protection
The attackers pose as employees of the intercom services and, under the pretext of replacing equipment, convince citizens to tell them the SMS codes that are allegedly necessary to obtain new keys. This way they get access to people's accounts on the Gosuslugi portal and other digital services. This scheme began to be distributed in February 2025. According to Kaspersky Who Calls, by July, the number of complaints about such calls had tripled.
As noted by Kaspersky Lab experts, the purpose of scammers is not just to get the code, but to use the access obtained to process various documents on behalf of the victim, including certificates, or, for example, loan applications. A few days later, they can contact the victim again, but this time under the guise of representatives of government agencies or banks. Under the pretext of protecting against fraud and "hacking into a personal account," they intimidate a citizen by talking about loans or suspicious actions. Further events unfold according to the classic scenario: the victim is persuaded to confirm transactions, transfer money to a "secure account", install unauthorized applications, demonstrate the screen or transfer access to the device.
Izvestia correspondents have also encountered similar calls. In one case, having introduced themselves as employees of the intercom service, the scammers informed about the imminent replacement of equipment in the entrance and asked for passport data and information about the number of people living in the apartment to apply. They promised that as soon as the keys were ready, they would send an SMS with a code that would need to be named. However, when asked to specify the exact address at which the installation will be performed, the callers were confused. At this point, the dialogue quickly came to naught.
In another case, after a similar call, the journalist was sent a code, which, as it turned out, turned out to be a one-time password for logging into the personal account of one of the online services. Shortly after, a request for passport details also followed. At that moment, the telecom operator's auto-informer intervened, warning of possible fraud. The conversation was immediately interrupted. However, the attempts did not stop: in the following days, the correspondent received text messages with spelling errors from certain "Roskomnadzor employees" who claimed that they had recorded an attempt to hack an account on Gosuslugi and asked to get in touch urgently. The journalist did not respond to these requests.
What measures are legislators taking?
The Russian system of protection against telephone scams is actively developing, but so far it is not 100% coping, as scammers are improving their schemes more and more every day and coming up with new workarounds. "Replacing the intercom" is another example of how intruders use everyday situations to get hold of personal data and SMS codes.
Since June 1, an innovation has been in effect in Russia designed to block such schemes: a special code to confirm the operation will be sent only if a phone call is not being made on the mobile device at that moment. First of all, this concerns users of "Public Services," said Anton Nemkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, federal coordinator of the Digital Russia party project.
According to him, this increases the chances that a person will have time to break off contact with a fraudster, think about the situation and not transfer confidential data.
— However, even here the scammers have found a workaround: now they first end the conversation so that the victim receives an SMS, and then call again before the person has time to figure out exactly what happened. Therefore, the most important recommendation is never to disclose the codes to third parties, no matter who they are, and to remember that no organization requests such data over the phone," he said.
In general, in his opinion, the state is building a multi-level system to counter fraud. Among the key measures are the labeling of calls, the prohibition of foreign messengers for official communication, the ability to block spam calls and mailings, biometric identification in financial transactions, as well as the launch of an anti—fraud platform for the instant exchange of fraud data between banks, operators and law enforcement agencies. These decisions create barriers at every stage — from the first call to an attempt to withdraw money, the deputy emphasized.
In addition, since April 1, a law has been in force in Russia that regulates the relationship between telecom operators and subscribers, including foreign citizens and stateless persons, when providing mobile communication services. According to the document, a citizen of the Russian Federation can have no more than 20 SIM cards, a foreigner can have 10, including corporate ones. Telecom operators also verify subscriber information before providing communication services using a Unified Identification and Authentication System.
— However, even with technological protection, much depends on the vigilance of the citizens themselves. You need to be critical of any calls asking you to dictate a code, even if it's about "replacing the intercom," "checking the bill," or "receiving a payment." Any actions related to codes from SMS or messengers should be performed only independently, without outside participation. The sooner people get used to this rule, the less likely scammers are to implement their schemes," said Anton Nemkin.
The AppSec Solutions press service said that attackers often hunt for data and passwords, and when scammers call users by name, they may be talking about already stolen personal information that attackers could seize due to vulnerabilities in various services.
"It is already difficult to find out how they were stolen, but it is worth recalling that since December 2024, fines for leakage of personal user data for companies have increased significantly and reach 3% of turnover," the company recalled.
As for users, first of all, it is worth remembering: confirmation codes from SMS, as a rule, are asked to dictate by scammers. The company recalled the rules of "cyber hygiene" that should be followed: users must enable two-factor authentication on social networks and instant messengers, as well as install an antivirus on their phone.
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