Money in Their Pockets — Tatarstan Has Recorded a Record Loss from Scammers: 4.5 Billion Rubles in a Year

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      A record loss from fraudsters recorded in Tatarstan — 4.5 billion rubles in a year

      According to law enforcement agencies, residents of the Republic of Tatarstan lost a record sum of 4.5 billion rubles due to fraudsters by the end of 2025.

      Perpetrators are constantly refining their methods, putting almost anyone at risk. Among the key trends of the past year, the director of MTS in the republic, Marat Kabanov, highlighted several new sophisticated schemes, writes KP-Kazan. The first is multi-stage calls, when the victim is called sequentially by different “specialists”: first from the bank, then from the police, then from the security service. Such a chain disorients a person and artificially increases trust. The share of such calls rose over the year from 10% to 20%, and their peak activity occurs between 16:00 and 18:00. The second popular scheme is fake benefits, in which scammers, posing as social service employees, offer “winter” or seasonal discounts on utilities to extract confirmation codes. The third scheme is fake sales, which become especially active during holiday periods such as New Year’s. Users are redirected to clone websites of well-known stores, where their bank card data are stolen. The fourth dangerous trend is targeted attacks on teenagers. Schoolchildren and students receive calls on behalf of educational institutions threatening them with being barred from exams, and to “resolve the problem” the callers extract access codes to the Gosuslugi portal or banking apps. The aim of all these schemes is the same — to obtain confidential access codes from SMS, from Gosuslugi or banks, and gain full control over the victim’s digital identity and finances.

      How to protect yourself?

      To protect themselves, experts recommend strictly following several rules. Never disclose SMS codes, card CVV codes, or passwords, since legitimate services never request them. At any doubt, end the contact and call the organization yourself at the official number listed on its website. It is useful to agree in advance with relatives on code words to confirm identity in an emergency, which will help protect against voice deepfakes. It is important not to give in to panic and the artificial urgency created by scammers — you can always take a pause and consult someone. Earlier it was reported that a woman from Tatarstan was left without a bed and 2.8 million rubles after a conversation with scammers.

      Arina Mikhaylova

      Published: 10.01.2026 14:27

      Edited: 10.01.2026 14:27