Digital fraud declines in Russia after rollout of Cyberbez measures
Authorities say tighter rules on calls, SIM cards and banking are curbing cyber fraud.
Russia has reported a sharp decline in cyber fraud following the introduction of new regulatory measures in 2025. Officials say legislative action targeting telephone and online scams has begun to deliver measurable results.
State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Digital Development Ivan Lebedev told the State Duma that crimes covered by the first package of reforms, known as ‘Cyberbez 1.0’, have fallen by 40%, according to confirmed statistics.
Earlier this year, Lebedev said Russia records roughly 677,000 cases of phone and online fraud annually, with incidents rising by more than 35% since 2022, highlighting the scale of the challenge faced by authorities.
In April, President Vladimir Putin signed a law introducing a range of countermeasures, including a state information system to combat fraud, limits on unsolicited marketing calls, stricter SIM card issuance rules, and new compliance obligations for banks.
Further steps are now under discussion. Officials say a second package is being prepared, while a third set of initiatives was announced in December as Russia continues to strengthen its digital security framework.
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