Fraudsters work through forged powers of attorney, online loan applications, and stolen phone numbers. Russian law responded with four new instruments — each one real, each one with a trade-off. Here is what they do and whether they are worth activating.
1. Blocking real-estate transactions without personal presence
The most reliable way to protect your apartment from being sold using forged documents or a fraudulent power of attorney.
You file an application through Gosuslugi (the state services portal) or an MFC service centre. The Unified State Register of Real Estate (EGRN) records a flag: transactions involving your property require your personal presence. Rosreestr will reject registration even if a fraudster brings a notarised power of attorney with your original signature.
The downside. If you live in another city and plan to sell through a representative, the transaction will be blocked. Removing the flag requires a personal visit to an MFC or Gosuslugi — which takes time you may not have in an urgent sale.
Bottom line. Set the flag if you have no plans to transact in the near future. Removing it is straightforward; the risk of losing your apartment to fraud drops to near zero.
2. Credit self-ban
An online loan taken in your name by a fraudster is one of the most common scenarios. You typically learn about it when debt collectors start calling.
You can now enable a credit self-ban through your Gosuslugi account. Any bank or microfinance organisation that receives such a flag is legally required to refuse a loan application — even if all documents appear to be in order.
The downside. Want to take advantage of an in-store instalment offer? You will need to lift the ban first. The removal takes effect with a delay — usually the next business day. This lag is intentional: it prevents a fraudster from pressuring you into removing the ban and immediately taking out a loan.
Bottom line. If you are not planning to borrow in the coming months, enable it. For most people this is low-friction, high-value protection.
3. 48-hour transfer freeze
When someone transfers money under a fraudster’s influence, stopping the transfer is normally impossible: the bank has executed the client’s instruction.
Banks are now required to analyse transactions for fraud signals. If a transfer looks suspicious — the recipient is in the Central Bank’s fraud database, the amount is unusual, or it is a first transfer to an unknown person — the bank can freeze the transfer for 48 hours.
During that window you can reconsider or receive a warning from a family member.
The downside. Legitimate transactions also get caught — for example, buying a used car privately. Confirming by phone that you are acting voluntarily does not always resolve the hold quickly. Money can be stuck at the worst possible moment.
Bottom line. This is not a setting you control — it is a bank obligation. Keep it in mind: urgent transfers to unfamiliar recipients may be delayed by two days.
4. Biometric verification for SIM cards
Your phone number is the key to every online service. Fraudsters had learned to reissue SIM cards using forged documents, giving them full access to the victim’s banking apps.
It is now impossible to register a new SIM card without in-person verification or confirmed biometrics. Buying a SIM at a kiosk, as before, no longer works.
The downside. Need an extra card for a router, a child, or a company device? You will have to visit a mobile operator outlet and go through identity verification. Queues, time, a passport.
Bottom line. The inconvenience is one-time; the protection is permanent. Re-issuing your SIM card without you is now dramatically harder.
What to set up right now
If you have not done this yet — it takes about 15 minutes through Gosuslugi:
- Block real-estate transactions without personal presence.
- Enable the credit self-ban.
The other two measures operate in the background, provided by banks and mobile operators.
Security in 2026 is a conscious choice: slightly slower, slightly less convenient — but with incomparably lower risk of losing an apartment or millions of roubles.
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Suspect you have been targeted by fraudsters or that your data has been compromised? Get in touch — we will work out which steps to take right now.