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- Underpayment of the criminal: the damage from the actions of the droppers fell by almost 20%
Underpayment of the criminal: the damage from the actions of the droppers fell by almost 20%
Damage from droppers has decreased by almost 20% in recent months: in July – October of this year, it amounted to 61.6 billion, the Interior Ministry told Izvestia. The reasons are the introduction of criminal liability for droppers in July and banking restrictions against fraudsters. At the same time, the number of thefts fell by 22% compared to last year, and the number of frauds — by 7%. However, the schemes of criminals are becoming more inventive, and the average amount that attackers receive from victims is increasing. How else can the authorities strengthen the fight against cyberbullying? — in the Izvestia article.
What measures work against droppers
After the introduction of criminal prosecution for droppers, the amount of damage from their actions decreased by 18%. This was reported to Izvestia by the Russian Interior Ministry.
They clarified: in July – October of this year, the volume of losses from droppers amounted to 61.6 billion rubles, and for the same period in 2024 - 75 billion rubles. The damage is decreasing monthly compared to last year: in September — by 17.4%, in October - by 31.6%.
Droppers are bank customers who provide their cards for cashing out money, making transfers in favor of shady businesses or other illegal transactions. These can be funds from victims of fraudsters, money from drug dealers, crypto exchanges, illegal casinos and pirate sites.
The authorities have stepped up their fight against droppage this year. Since July 5, criminal liability has been introduced for them. The criminal faces a fine of 300 thousand rubles, as well as up to three years in prison for a one-time transfer of a card or access to electronic wallets, transfers and withdrawals of stolen money. At the same time, the punishment for organizing such schemes is even more serious — it can reach six years in prison or a fine of 1 million rubles.
In addition, since May 15, limits on transfers above 100,000 rubles per month have been in effect for bank customers who have entered the so-called dropper database of the regulator. People who have previously been noticed in suspicious transactions are brought in there.
The dropper database is formed based on information from banks about all cases and attempts of fraud. That is, if a person informed a credit institution that he sent a transfer under the influence of fraudsters, and as a result the money was stolen, the recipient's account will end up in the Central Bank database. If a bona fide user is blacklisted and his access to online services is restricted or transfers are banned, he can appeal this decision.
—Currently, large banks suspend about 330,000 monthly transfers to banking details from the Bank of Russia's database on fraudulent transactions," the Central Bank told Izvestia.
The introduction of regulatory restrictions has led to a shortage of offers for the sale of "dropper kits" on the black market — they include a copy of the bank's customer's passport, his account and a SIM card. A few weeks later, such services reappeared, but their cost increased significantly, Izvestia wrote.
Moreover, in the first 10 months of 2025, the number of registered thefts decreased by 21.8% and the number of frauds by 7.4%, the Interior Ministry continued.
This was facilitated by the introduction of mandatory labeling of calls for companies from September 1. Now any business call from a number registered as an individual entrepreneur or legal entity must have a special label. This measure is aimed at combating phone fraud and increasing customer confidence in business calls.
Izvestia contacted the Association of Banks of Russia and the NSPK with a question about what other anti-fraud measures are currently being used.
How can we strengthen the fight against cybercriminals
Despite the decrease in the number of reported IT crimes, the average amount that an attacker receives from a victim is growing, the Interior Ministry's press service warned.
The trend towards an increase in the average check will continue to be observed, said Alexey Gorelkin, cybersecurity expert at the Stolypin Institute of Growth Economics and CEO of Phishman. This is due to targeted attacks on people with high incomes. In addition, withdrawal schemes are becoming more complicated and attackers are increasing the amount of theft due to greater labor intensity, he added.
— For scammers, large sums are most attractive, which can now reach several million rubles. They try to concentrate resources on such schemes and work with potential victims for a long time and inventively," says Leonid Delitsyn, an analyst at Finam.
The average amount of damage from individual schemes may increase by 15-20% next year, the chief lawyer of the Kontur product group admitted.Aegis and Staffcop Olga Popova.
Meanwhile, the cumulative damage from droppers due to systemic government intervention will decrease by another 10-15%, predicts Valery Tumin, a member of the Expert Council on the Development of the Digital Economy under the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy. Leonid Delitsyn gave a more optimistic assessment — a reduction of 20%.
In order not to be involved in the dropper scheme, citizens should not transfer bank details, cards, accounts and passwords to third parties. This is a direct path to criminal responsibility, said Oleg Abelev, head of the analytical department at the Rikom-Trust investment company. It is also not necessary to register individual entrepreneurs, SIM cards and electronic wallets at the request of friends, he added.
According to Alexey Gorelkin, the general level of cyberculture in the country is still low, so it is important to introduce "cyber security" in educational institutions and centers for pensioners.
Informing bank employees about the dropper activity of young customers receiving their first debit card will also be an effective measure, said Vladimir Ulyanov, head of the Zecurion analytical center. He suggested introducing technical solutions that analyze the transaction history of each individual client not according to general rules, as it works now, but according to his individual financial behavior.
In addition, according to Olga Popova, the use of cyberbots and AI will be useful in the fight against droppers — they will help with the search for fraudulent schemes.
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