Published on: 2026-09-09
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Project experts “Call me back yourself” They warned about a new fraud scheme in which criminals try to steal citizens’ savings. Using various psychological manipulation methods, they persuade Muscovites to urgently “update their main account at the Central Bank.” To do this, a person is asked to withdraw all funds from their accounts at an ATM and then deposit them through another ATM using the details provided by the scammers.
“Fraud today is a well-thought-out mechanism. It begins with studying the personality of the interlocutor and selecting an individual deception scheme. The success of criminals depends on how well their methods of influence correspond to the characteristics of a particular person. The scheme with ‘updating the main account at the Central Bank’ is a variation of the already well-known legend about a ‘secure’ account, just with a different name. Criminals scare the person with criminal liability due to data leakage, convince them to withdraw funds and transfer them to a special account ‘for safekeeping.’ The key to safety in this case is vigilance and critical thinking,” said Valentina Shilina, project manager of ‘Call Me Back’ in the capital.
Acting according to a new scheme, the attackers contact users through messengers. They introduce themselves as employees of law enforcement agencies, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, or other authorities. They inform the person about an alleged leak of their personal and banking data, for example from a previous workplace.
Scammers intimidate the interlocutor by saying that this information can be used to finance illegal activities and that it will lead to criminal liability. To avoid trouble, the person is persuaded to urgently “update their main account at the Central Bank.” They are offered to withdraw all money from all their accounts and transfer it via ATM to the account specified by the fraudsters.
The scammers justify their demands by citing the “high reliability” of the ATMs specified by the bank. To be convincing, they may send the person a fake video instruction from the Bank of Russia via messenger. At the same time, the interlocutor is promised that after these manipulations, all funds will be safely returned to their updated account. However, the money instantly goes to accounts controlled by the criminals.
Experts of the “Call Back Yourself” project remind that there are no “main” or “safe” accounts in the Bank of Russia for citizens. Employees of the Central Bank, government agencies, and other banks never ask citizens to perform any operations on accounts, especially to withdraw all the money and transfer it via ATMs using unknown details.
As soon as the interlocutor starts talking about money or accounts, regardless of who they claim to be, you must immediately stop the conversation or correspondence. If you receive a suspicious call or message, you should hang up and independently contact the bank via the official number listed on the website or on your bank card. Do not disclose your personal data, card details, SMS codes, or passwords.
Informational online project “Call me back yourself” was created in 2022 by the Government of Moscow jointly with the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the city of Moscow. It helps the capital’s residents protect themselves and their loved ones from telephone and internet scams. The project website contains information about upcoming in-person and online events, memos and expert recommendations are available, as well as recordings of past events webinars and other useful materials. For user convenience, lecture recordings can be viewed on the project website, as well as on the social network page “VKontakte” and in Rutube channel.
The main components of the “Call Back Yourself” project are simple and clear expert advice, relevant stories, and a convenient format. At the events, they analyze the stories of victims, highlight fraudsters’ techniques, and also explain how to behave correctly in such a situation.
The creation and maintenance of information security measures, as well as combating cyber fraud, correspond to the objectives of the national project “Data Economy and Digital Transformation of the State”. More details about Russia’s national projects and the capital’s contribution can be found at special page.
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Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.