Unified spam blocking system in Russia

2022

Start of system operation

On June 1, 2022, it became known about the launch in Russia of a unified spam blocking system launched by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). On the regulator's website, you can leave a complaint about receiving unwanted calls and SMS messages.

The subscriber will need to enter the name, number of the recipient, sender and brief information about the received advertising. The client will receive an operational response from his operator, and the advertisement will be blocked for 72 hours.

State spam blocking system launched in Russia

Due to the large number of citizens' complaints about spam calls and SMS, including from abroad using substitution numbers, the department, together with telecom operators, launched a service for citizens' appeals to operators to promptly block unwanted advertising that is received by subscribers without their consent, the FAS said in a statement.

The subscriber's appeal will be a prerequisite, Izvestia the press service explained, Tele2 but the operator will also check it for additional parameters, including the number of complaints and the mass call. Therefore, there is no risk of accidental blocking of a number that is not related to spam advertising, even if a complaint has been received about it.

Alexander Vurasko, Head of Digital Threat Analysis at Infosecurity a Softline Company, notes that the system will not solve the problem of using IP telephony in combination with number substitution. In this case, the subscriber may display any number during the call, while he will not be related to illegal advertising

An additional check on the number and duration of calls will protect ordinary users from blocking, since spam calls and mailings are made en masse, explained Pavel Utkin, a leading lawyer at the Parthenon United Legal Center. However, in his opinion, such a system may not cope with fraudulent calls through various messengers, which by the beginning of June 2022 began to arrive to customers of various banks.^[1]

Creating a System

On March 21, 2022, it became known about the creation in Russia of a unified system for blocking numbers with which calls and SMS messages with spam are received. It should work by June 1, 2022.

According to Izvestia, the system involves the emergence of special forms for complaints about unwanted spam calls on the websites of the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Big Four operators (MTS, MegaFon, VimpelCom and Tele2). If the information on the spam complaint is confirmed, the number will be blocked for 72 hours by all companies connected to the system.

A unified state spam blocking system is being created in Russia

For more effective work to protect citizens from unwanted advertising, joint work with mobile operators is necessary, "said FAS Deputy Head Karina Taukenova, specifying that the antimonopoly service and operators have already agreed on how the service will work.

The press service of VimpelCom told the newspaper that mobile operators are creating a feedback form for subscribers that will allow them to exchange information and promptly analyze suspicious numbers for further blocking spam.

The press service of Tele2 explained to Izvestia that customers can already contact the call center about the spam call, the application will be considered within 72 hours, but in cooperation with the FAS, a new way of filing a complaint will appear through a special form on the operator's website.

Previously, subscribers had to block the number from which spam came on their own. Now that the information will reach the four largest operators, this system will become much more effective, said Vladimir Ulyanov, head of the analytical center, Zecurion. In his opinion, it is worth providing for a check of such appeals so as not to face abuse, since subscribers can complain, for example, about competitors or other citizens in order to block them.^[2]

Notes