Published on: 2026-09-28
Source: Central Bank of Russia – Central Bank of Russia –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Scammers try to bypass protective mechanisms that warn about suspicious calls or block them. Therefore, to establish first contact with a person, they increasingly use SMS messages, emails, or messengers. A very common scheme is when in their message the criminals pretend to be employees of agencies (for example, the Social Fund, the tax service, the Central Bank) and address the recipient by their full name. As a rule, they report the need to reissue or cancel a “digital power of attorney,” which causes concern for the letter’s recipient. At the end of the message, a phone number of the “relevant agency” is given, which must be urgently called to clarify the information. In fact, this number belongs to the scammers. If the person calls back, they start requesting codes from SMS messages sent during the conversation or persuade them to transfer money to a “safe account.” These codes are needed by scammers to confirm a number change for notifications in mobile banking or on the State Services portal.
If you receive such a message, do not respond to it or call back the indicated number. Genuine employees of government agencies and law enforcement do not use messengers, social networks, or SMS messages to address any issues. If you have any doubts, independently call the government organization at the phone number listed on the official website of the agency, or visit the MFC office.
Please note; This information is raw content received directly from the information source. It represents an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.