Russia will begin developing a mobile application using AI to protect citizens from online fraud, according to information from Russian Deputy Minister of Digital Development Aleksandr Shoytov.
Speaking at the Positive Hack Days cybersecurity forum held in Moscow on May 23 (local time), Mr. Shoytov said that the development of the application will start in June, within the framework of the national anti-fraud platform.
The testing phase of the application will last until the end of this year, with a nationwide licensing and deployment plan expected in early 2026.
According to RT, the application will be integrated with real-time warning features for suspicious cheating, along with an urgent alert button for users to press when they suspect they are a target.
People will be able to report all forms of fraud directly through the application, Shoytov said. The application will also be connected to other banking services and digital platforms.
This new system is part of the national information platform, implemented according to the law effective from March, with the coordination between the Central Bank, the Ministry of Home Affairs, commercial banks and the Ministry of Digital Development.
According to Russian Foreign Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Russia has recorded more than 765,000 cybercrime cases since the beginning of 2025, about half of which are fraud cases. He said cybercrime in Russia has increased sharply in recent years - from only 1/7 of criminal cases 5 years ago to 40% today.
Russian officials believe that most of the fraudulent activities originated in Ukraine, where call centers are believed to be linked to foreign intelligence agencies. These activities mainly aim to appropriate the assets of Russian citizens through fraud over the phone and online networks. Statistics show that 1 in 4 victims of fraud are retirees.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously described fraudulent calls as a key strategy of Kiev against Moscow, and said it has become a state-level policy.
