Russian Interior Ministry Warns of Phone Scam Posing as Municipal Accountants

Overview

• Officials reported that callers present themselves as municipal accountants about a payment or a requirement to submit documents in person.
• Near the end of the call, victims are asked for passport details under the pretext of issuing a temporary pass.
• Police noted that passport data alone cannot enable account takeover but are used to create a psychological sense of legitimacy.
• Scammers often follow up by impersonating law-enforcement officers who allege a data leak or even terrorist financing to pressure compliance.
• Authorities urged citizens to verify any requests through official contacts and to never disclose SMS authorization codes or one-time passwords, with the warning published November 2 on the MVD unit’s Telegram channel.