The Russian government has issued a decree on Saturday, banning IP telephone services. The aim is to combat the growing problem of telephone fraud, with the new regulation removing a license for the transmission of internet data with embedded speech information from the catalog of communication services. The decision is justified as a fight against telephone fraud. “This type of telephone fraud will now be significantly restricted, as the possibility of connecting data networks with telephone systems is being excluded” the government explained.
Despite this, it was assured that this decision will have no impact on normal users. For messaging communication, special programs will continue to be used, enabling the exchange of messages over the internet without relying on traditional fixed and mobile networks.
In December, media reported that the Russian Ministry of Digital Development and the supervisory authority, Roskomnadzor, were considering blocking calls in messenger services, also to combat fraud. According to reports, two scenarios are being discussed: a complete block or a ban on international calls.
The Russian government has been reporting an increase in telephone fraud since the start of the war in Ukraine, with fraudsters targeting Russian citizens, asking them to attack banks, military commissariats, or other objects. This fraud scheme primarily targets older and socially vulnerable people. The perpetrators contact their victims under false identities, convincing them to transfer money or engage in illegal activities to recover their “stolen” money.
According to estimates by the largest Russian bank, Sberbank, the damage from January to September was around 250 billion rubles (more than two billion euros). In the latest reports, the Interior Ministry has been detailing an intense wave of fraud attempts.