One in Ten Russians Lost Money to Phone Scams

Nearly one in ten Russians has lost a significant amount of money due to phone scams, according to research conducted by Kaspersky Lab in June of this year.

The study surveyed 1,000 residents of Russia. About a third of respondents admitted that they or their loved ones had lost money as a result of phone fraud, with 9% losing very large sums. However, only 4% of victims reported the incidents to law enforcement.

How Phone Scams Typically Work

Usually, scammers call from a spoofed number or from a number that previously belonged to a real bank. They pose as employees of a financial institution and trick victims into revealing passwords and/or two-factor authentication codes needed to access their online banking or confirm money transfers.

Protective Measures and Public Response

Only 17% of those surveyed use specialized software to protect against spam and fraud. Another 37% rely on built-in features, such as blacklists. One in five Russians (21%) does not use any security solutions at all. Half of respondents (51%) prefer not to answer calls from unknown numbers.

According to Dmitry Volgin, Senior System Analyst at Kaspersky Lab, if someone receives a call about a suspicious transaction on their card, there is a more than 90% chance that it is a scam.