Russians Warned About New SNILS-Related Fraud Scheme

Deputy Nemkin: Scammers Deceive Russians by Offering to Replace SNILS

Scammers are targeting Russian citizens with a new deceptive scheme, offering to replace their Individual Personal Account Insurance Number (SNILS). Anton Nemkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, and federal coordinator of the “Digital Russia” party project, issued this warning about the novel fraud tactic in an interview with Life.ru.

Nemkin explained that these fraudsters contact Russians, falsely presenting themselves as employees of official government agencies. They then inform potential victims that their SNILS requires replacement. Should an individual believe the imposter and disclose their SNILS number, they soon receive a follow-up call. The subsequent caller typically claims to represent a bank, Rosfinmonitoring, the “Gosuslugi” public services portal, or another state institution.

“They convince individuals that their personal data has allegedly already fallen into the hands of fraudsters, thereby creating a profound sense of urgency and danger. In such a high-pressure atmosphere, people become convinced they are protecting their money and are willing to blindly follow any instructions,” the deputy stated. Nemkin further elaborated that through this manipulative process, scammers coerce Russians into taking out loans and then transferring the borrowed funds directly to them.

To safeguard against this particular type of fraud, Deputy Nemkin urged the public to remember that the SNILS document has not required replacement for an extended period. He also emphasized that legitimate banks and government bodies will never request money transfers to so-called “safe” accounts, nor will they initiate communication with clients through messaging applications. “Any call of this nature is a definitive signal to immediately terminate the conversation,” he concluded.

This warning follows previous alerts to Russians about other scam tactics, including instances where fraudsters demanded potential victims install specific messaging applications for “high-quality communication.”