Roskomnadzor confirmed that the possibility of restricting voice traffic in instant messengers is being considered as a way to force companies to fulfill the requirements to combat fraud. The department explained that communication operators can already block calls from abroad by default, leaving the user the opportunity to unlock them completely or only for numbers from his list of contacts. These measures are in the zone of capabilities and responsibility of telecom operators, added in RKN.
According to the agency, some communication operators are already actively working on introducing independent prohibitions by users of incoming calls from abroad. “However, the legislative introduction of these requirements is possible. The same requirements can be introduced in relation to instant messengers. As a coercion measure for them, they can use the locking of voice traffic in them,” said the RKN.
In Roskomnadzor, it was clarified that new approaches and technical capabilities of counteracting voice fraudulent traffic, including messengers, are under discussion. Other measures are also considered, for example, identifying illegal call centers using instruments such as SIM boxes. At the same time, the department emphasized that communication operators should not receive income from such traffic.
According to the department, a significant number of fraudulent calls that arrive mainly from abroad are currently recorded, both through the networks of Russian communications operators and through foreign instant messengers. The RKN noted the importance of the fact that the operators and the owners of the messengers are introduced by preventive measures to protect their users. Already, some of the large operators independently and effectively fights fraud.
, as an example, Roskomnadzor brought the installation by operators of additional systems on their infrastructure, including the use of artificial intelligence technologies to prevent fraudulent challenges. Operators also actively interact with each other, exchanging information about risk factors for calls coming from abroad.
In addition, the department recalled that the Antifrod system is facilitated by the fight against fraud within the country, which does not miss voice calls from substitution numbers. All communication operators were connected to the system, and from the moment it was launched at the end of 2022, more than one billion of such challenges was blocked. At the same time, Roskomnadzor emphasized that calls from abroad require additional measures.
It was previously reported that the Ministry of Construction and Roskomnadzor discuss the possibility of introducing restrictions on calls in messengers in connection with the activity of scammers. Two scenarios are considered: blocking voice traffic only from abroad and a complete ban on voice calls in messengers.