The Central Bank of Russia published results from its annual cyber fraud survey of nearly 460,000 respondents across all Russian regions, showing that 29% of respondents experienced cyber fraud in 2025, five percentage points less than in 2024. The findings also highlight different exposure and behavioural patterns by gender and age group, with pensioners representing the largest share of respondents reporting losses above RUB 1 million. Phone calls remained the main channel used by fraudsters, while fraud involving phishing links, fake QR codes and malware increased; losses occurred twice as often when malware was used compared with phone calls. Women were less likely than men to encounter fraud overall but were more likely to act imprudently under fraudsters’ influence, including more frequent disclosure of SMS and push-notification codes during scam calls. Men were more often targeted via web-based messengers and scammed on websites and in software apps, and they more frequently downloaded malware and disclosed personal and financial data. Most victims transferred money to scammers themselves, with an average loss of up to RUB 20,000, and almost 40% of those affected reported the theft to both their bank and the police; around a third of those who lost money did not follow financial security rules while interacting with scammers.
Central Bank of Russia 2026-02-16
Central Bank of Russia survey finds cyber fraud fell to 29% in 2025 while malware and phone scams drive most losses
The Central Bank of Russia's annual cyber fraud survey revealed that 29% of respondents experienced cyber fraud in 2025, a decrease from the previous year. The survey highlighted gender and age differences in exposure and behavior, with pensioners reporting the highest losses. Phone calls were the primary fraud channel, but phishing, fake QR codes, and malware incidents increased, with malware causing losses twice as often as phone calls.