Threat of freezing: Russians faced blockages after making transfers to themselves
Russians faced blockages after transfers between their accounts. In some cases, banks freeze only individual transactions, but sometimes the cards as a whole, lawyers told Izvestia. Moreover, even after confirming the operation, sometimes access is not opened immediately, according to customers of several large banks. They check transactions for a whole list of signs of fraud. And starting in 2026, the Central Bank will expand their list. One of the new ones is an attempt to send money to another person after a large transfer to himself. What the bank is required to do by law and how customers can avoid being blocked is in the Izvestia article.
Russians' cards began to be blocked after the transfer to themselves
Customers of large Russian banks faced the blocking of individual transactions and even cards after making transfers to themselves. Lawyers and financial market analysts told Izvestia about such cases.
Both large transfers (for example, salaries to your account in another bank) and minor transactions are now periodically blocked, said Alexander Kiselyov, a specialist in banking disputes and managing partner of the Prov law firm. According to him, there have been more and more such cases lately.
— Customer complaints about card blocking after transfers to themselves are not uncommon now. The market has been overwhelmed by a wave of fraud, and the regulator requires banks to act proactively. However, in practice, conscientious customers are increasingly being frozen. Therefore, in some cases such blockages look excessive and poorly commensurate with the risks," said Yaroslav Kabakov, Director of Strategy at Finam IC.
Banks, fearing huge fines, including the revocation of licenses from the Central Bank and Rosfinmonitoring for insufficient control, deliberately shift the balance towards reinsurance, added Oleg Abelev, head of the analytical department at the Rikom-Trust investment company. As a result, the risk of losing a client due to temporary inconvenience is less significant than the threat of sanctions from the Central Bank.
Users themselves complain about blocking transactions and accounts. For example, a Gazprombank client said that it was only the second time that he was able to withdraw his salary to his account at another bank. Next, he received an SMS message saying that he needed to confirm the operation that had already been performed, and then a call. In a telephone conversation, the client confirmed the operation. Three days later, when he tried to transfer vacation pay, he received a notification that the card had restrictions. Contacting the support chat yielded no results. As a result, they were removed only at the bank's branch, according to the commentary of the national rating " <url>".
Another client of the same organization said that on November 27, he closed the deposit and transferred the money to the card, after which he tried to withdraw it to another bank to his own account. The card was blocked on suspicion of fraud. After chatting with the operator in the chat, the bank did not remove the lock. The card started working again only after calls to the hotline. Six days later, the plastic was blocked again after closing another account and withdrawing money. The lock was lifted only after the fifth attempt to achieve this. The bank's team described their actions as a standard precautionary measure.
A VTB customer complained about the blocking of a transfer to himself in the amount of 150 rubles. After contacting the chat, they could not help him. The bank's team asked for understanding of the procedure and later restored the operation. The bank informed Izvestia that the transfer amount does not matter: if there are doubts about the client's voluntary consent to the operation, the credit institution has the right to reject it.
An Alfa-Bank user was blocked from accessing his personal account after transferring money between his accounts. At the branch, the client was assured that the lock was lifted within a day, which did not happen. Another bank employee recommended waiting for a call from financial monitoring, which was never received. The bank's team indicated that they are solving the problem. Izvestia has sent inquiries to these financial institutions.
What signs do banks find suspicious?
Banks are required to check their clients' transactions for signs of fraud and prevent suspicious transactions, the Central Bank told Izvestia. At the same time, when complying with the provisions of the law "On the National Payment System", they do not block citizens' accounts, but suspend the execution of transfers, the regulator noted.
— If the client has confirmed the transfer or performed the transaction again, the bank is obliged to execute his order immediately. With the exception of cases when information about the recipient of funds is contained in the database of the Bank of Russia on fraudulent transactions," the Central Bank added.
The regulator recalled that from January 1, 2026, the list of signs of fraudulent transactions will expand from 6 to 12. One of the new tokens is the transfer of money to a person with whom there have never been transactions in the last six months, provided that such an operation was preceded by a transfer to himself through the SBP in the amount of more than 200 thousand rubles in less than a day. Earlier, Izvestia wrote that the measure would cause a 25% increase in the number of blockages.
In addition, banks will take into account situations when a customer changes their phone number in online banking or on Public Services 48 hours before the transfer, which may indicate that attackers have gained remote access to the account.
However, banks are already closely monitoring citizens' transfers, the lawyers stressed. The security system operates according to strict algorithms, said Alexander Kiselyov from the company "Prov". Blocking may occur if the client's behavior is atypical: too frequent transfers or for unusual amounts, as well as transactions from suspicious devices, such as gadgets seen in fraudulent schemes.
Even the abnormal timing of transactions, sending large amounts through the SBP, or splitting the transaction into many small transfers may arouse suspicion, the lawyer warned. Questions may also arise when using new banking details and atypical receipts from third parties. Transfers to yourself also come under control.
At the same time, at the end of November, the head of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, at the Central Bank's Focus on the Customer conference, pointed to an increase in complaints about unjustified account blocking. According to her, the market has gone overboard in the fight against fraud. The central bank had to "resolve" situations where customers had their accounts blocked without explanation, she added.
How not to get blocked by the card
"When monitoring transactions, the bank takes into account a whole set of factors that indicate that the client could have been a victim of fraud, but it is not limited to the amount of the transfer," said Dom Bank's Vice President for Information Security.Russian Federation" Dmitry Nikishov.
According to 115-FZ, banks are required to monitor transactions and suspend suspicious transactions, as well as request supporting documents. The blocking period ranges from 10 days to a month for ordinary suspicions and up to a year for suspected extremism or sabotage, Alexander Kiselyov added.
To avoid blocking an account or transaction, you should keep the usual pattern of operations, clearly indicate the purpose of the payment in the chat or in the comments to the transfer, and use only verified devices. In addition, you cannot make transfers at the direction of strangers. It is also better to separate personal and business operations, the lawyer advised.
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