In the Leningrad Region, the prosecutor’s office has taken legal action against a mobile operator to seek compensation for funds stolen from an elderly citizen by telephone scammers. The press service of the supervisory authority stated that this move aims to protect vulnerable members of society, particularly pensioners and veterans who are often targeted by sophisticated deception schemes and may struggle to protect themselves due to their age and other factors.
Prosecutors revealed that a significant number of citizens have fallen victim to crimes involving “remote fraud.” Perpetrators, posing as bank employees or law enforcement officials, trick victims into believing that their savings are at risk before stealing their money. These scammers often use spoofed numbers that appear to be local, leading the victims to believe the calls are originating from within the country.
According to legislation, mobile operators are required to block such fraudulent calls from entering their networks. Failure to comply with this obligation can result in administrative penalties under Article 13.2.1 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. The prosecutor’s office emphasized that the operator’s inaction in preventing the fraudster’s call constitutes a failure to provide adequate communication services and results in financial harm to the subscriber.
In a specific case, scammers managed to deceive a local resident born in 1940. The prosecutor of the Lomonosovsky district has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the victim to seek the recovery of stolen funds and compensation for non-pecuniary damages from the operator.
Notably, this marks the first instance in Russia where the prosecutor’s office is pursuing funds taken by scammers from a mobile operator. The prosecutor’s office of the Leningrad Region stated that this legal action aims to establish an additional mechanism for compensating individuals who have suffered property losses as a result of deceptive schemes facilitated by cellular operators.