Cooperation between Russia and Belarus on combating telephone fraud has led to the start of joint investigations

“Kommersant” became aware of the first results of joint work between Russia and Belarus within the framework of cooperation to combat telephone fraud. Since April, when the corresponding agreement was concluded, three bilateral investigations have been opened against fraudulent groups, within the framework of which 1.3 thousand criminal cases have been opened. Experts, however, note that such partnerships are limited to calls made within only two countries, and so far see no signs of a decrease in the scale of fraud.

Cooperation between Moscow and Minsk on combating telephone fraud (fraud), launched in April, has already led to the start of joint investigations. Representative of the Investigative Committee of Belarus Sergei Gamko told Kommersant at the Antifraud forum that three investigations into telephone fraud have now been opened, and 1.3 thousand criminal cases have been opened. “First of all, we are talking about investigating the activities of large scam groups (a type of fraud in which the victim is misled and forced to disclose data or transfer money.— “Kommersant”),” said Sergei Gamko.

Cooperation in this direction was secured by an international agreement between the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Communications and Informatization of Belarus, signed in April. It should develop a system for limiting the passage of fraudulent international traffic on the communication networks of the two states, as well as regulating communication networks and international traffic in general (see Kommersant on April 19). The Ministry of Digital Development reported that the agreement also consolidates the agreements of telecom operators of both countries to work to reduce malicious traffic.

Most often, fraudulent groups involved in telephone fraud are international, but Russian-speaking, they include Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, citizens from other republics of the former USSR, says FAS.S.T specialist. on combating financial fraud Dmitry Dudkov. There are victims both in Russia and Belarus, while in 2023 “there is no visible decrease in the volume of fraud itself.” For example, Mr. Dudkov says, a scheme involving an attempt to intercept remote access to remote banking services and the use of fake videos and audio calls in instant messengers are still active.

The agreement between Russia and Belarus provided, first of all, legal grounds for the exchange of data between the intelligence services of the two countries, explains commercial director of the Security Code Fedor Dbar. Closer collaboration is now possible, which dramatically affects the speed of response to fraudulent campaigns, he says. Also, cooperation can lead to a more transparent information space from the point of view of legislation.

“The prospects for interaction between law enforcement agencies of Belarus and Russia lie in increasing the efficiency of data transfer to suppress cross-border cybercrimes, conducting joint operations to apprehend fraudsters and successful investigations, which ended, among other things, with the return of stolen money to victims,” agrees Mr. Dudkov.

But, Fedor Dbar emphasizes, scammers attack the Russian Federation not only from the territory of Belarus, and, on the contrary, any country can be a transit hub for such calls, attackers simply use spoofed virtual numbers, and “such a call is difficult to stop even within the framework of an agreement.”

Tatiana Isakova, Alexey Zhabin