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Personal data of citizens of the Russian Federation is confidential information that can only be accessed by representatives of government agencies. This is due to the fact that their illegal receipt and use is the basis for many fraudulent schemes, the implementation of which can cause significant financial losses for citizens.
Many citizens know that they should carefully monitor the safety of their personal data, especially for those indicated in the main document - the passport. However, their list is much wider. For example, these are INN and SNILS, which are available to almost every person living and working in Russia. Information about these numbers is of interest to various scammers and swindlers, who use them in a variety of criminal schemes.
General information about SNILS
The individual personal account insurance number, or SNILS for short, is a citizen’s identifier in the compulsory pension insurance system. It is to this number that employers transfer so-called insurance contributions for their employees to the pension fund. In accordance with the legislation, SNILS is assigned to all Russian citizens from birth, and to foreigners upon the fact of working in our country.
Until April 1, 2021, upon registration in the compulsory pension insurance system, citizens were issued special green plastic cards. However, after this date their issuance was stopped, although those that are in the hands of the population can be presented at the place of request.
Effective measures to protect against fraudsters
Expert advice that will help you avoid unpleasant situations associated with certain actions of fraudsters in the field of compulsory pension insurance:
- If you have the slightest doubt whether it is possible to disclose your SNILS number to unauthorized third parties, do not do it. Remember that most often refusing this will be the right decision. Neither police officers, nor representatives of house management, nor employees of the Pension Fund of Russia will ever carry out on-site checks of SNILS and demand your data.
- No crusts, official papers or forms mean the right of third parties to request the insurance number of an individual personal account without your consent. Answering the question about whether it is possible to give SNILS to strangers in passages near the metro or when visiting an apartment, the answer is unequivocal - no. No one will fine you for this or hold you accountable. Such threats are tricks of scammers.
- Do not forget that there are only a few situations when you need to provide a SNILS number, among them: official employment, seeking advice from the Pension Fund of Russia, requesting information on the State Services portal. Thus, personnel department employees, Pension Fund employees on the territory of the regional representative office and the administration of the State Services portal are among those who can check the SNILS of a citizen of the Russian Federation.
Why do scammers need a SNILS number?
The insurance number in the pension insurance system is quite specific. It is issued to citizens once and for life. It should be understood that this number alone will not allow fraudsters to carry out large-scale shadow operations.
In most cases, this type of personal data is collected for the purpose of signing fictitious contracts and illegally disposing of funds placed in pension accounts. For example, to transfer them from one non-state fund to another without the will of a citizen.
In addition, SNILS can be used as registration data for various services, including for opening fictitious electronic wallets.
The insurance pension account number cannot be used for the purpose of stealing funds from a citizen’s bank accounts, as well as for obtaining loans to him from financial institutions.
Attention! The only thing scammers can really do if they know the SNILS number is to apply for a microloan online if, in addition to the insurance certificate, they have the victim’s passport details.
How do scammers collect numbers?
Unscrupulous citizens use various tricks and tricks in order to obtain information about SNILS. It should be noted that for the most part their actions cannot be qualified as a criminal offense, since the methods they use require the voluntary consent of the subjects of personal data to transfer the necessary information to them.
Let's look at the most common ways to obtain insurance numbers.
Collection of data on behalf of the pension fund
Quite often , scammers go around the apartments and houses of citizens, where, posing as employees of the state pension fund, they declare the need to submit certain applications with the obligatory indication of SNILS.
As a rule, citizens are quite loyal to such visits and willingly sign the papers offered to them. This is due to the fact that the pension system in Russia is constantly being reformed, various kinds of changes often occur in it, so many simply do not have sufficient knowledge in the field of pension legislation.
Participation in fake opinion polls
Often, scammers pose as employees of various agencies conducting sociological surveys. At the same time, they ask you to fill out certain forms, where, among other things, SNILS is indicated.
Important! Most of the methods of real opinion polls assume the anonymity of respondents, without indicating the pension insurance number, tax identification number and other personal data.
Undoubtedly, the list of methods for collecting SNILS is much wider, since every year scammers come up with new deception schemes. However, the ones mentioned above are the most common and universal.
Schemes for scammers to obtain SNILS and passport data
Fraudsters have many ways to obtain a SNILS number. They may introduce themselves as employees of the Pension Fund or social service.
Some offer to receive a very profitable service, but for this the citizen must provide his personal data, including the number of the individual pension insurance certificate.
Attention! The most common methods for obtaining a SNILS number are:
- social survey of citizens. Young and seemingly respectable people, under the guise of conducting a social survey, ask for a document number. They justify their request by saying that the respondent’s answer needs to be entered into the Pension Fund database, and without SNILS this is impossible to do.
- private statistical surveys. At the same time, the attackers go door to door and introduce themselves as employees of statistical agencies. They ask for a SNILS number, for example, because they are conducting research on how citizens feel about the new pension reform. Sometimes, to ensure the legitimacy of the survey, citizens are notified about it in advance, using notices posted on the doors of the entrances.
- during employment or applying to the labor exchange. In this case, the candidate is asked to fill out a form where he indicates personal data. Often this happens precisely when a person finds advertisements with a tempting salary on free sites.
- phone calls. Attackers call a person, often introduce themselves with the real name of a Pension Fund employee and inform the citizen that he is entitled to some kind of payment, for example, an additional payment for unaccounted service. To receive it, you must provide your personal information. Often in this way they trick the account number and then cash it out.
- social assistance according to SNILS. Recently, information has been circulating online that some citizens are entitled to social assistance. To check whether a specific person is entitled to such support, you are asked to enter your SNILS number.
Don't fall for scammers' tricks! Pension Fund employees never conduct social surveys on the streets, do not provide services over the phone, and, of course, do not pay any social assistance.
How to find out your SNILS?
Fraud schemes
Since SNILS is the main identifier of a citizen in the pension insurance system, scammers use it to implement illegal schemes in this area.
Thus, most often, employees and agents of non-state pension funds resort to deception . The fact is that Russian legislation allows for a transition from one non-state pension fund to another when forming a funded pension. In this case, only an application with the citizen’s handwritten signature and an indication of SNILS is sufficient.
For a citizen, this state of affairs is fraught with at least a loss of investment income from placing funds in NPF accounts.
SNILS is not a document that identifies a person, however, this number can be used to register for certain services and when creating electronic wallets. Thus, scammers create fake accounts and profiles for their own, not always respectable, purposes.
How does snus work?
The use of snus, like smoking cigarettes, is aimed at introducing nicotine into the body. Chewing tobacco contains much more nicotine than smoking tobacco. However, approximately the same amount enters the blood. 30 minutes after placing a portion of snus, about 15 ng/ml of nicotine is determined in the blood, and then the figure is maintained at 30 ng/ml for a period of time. Moreover, unlike smoking, when using snus, tobacco smoke and the substances contained in it do not enter the body. This is why, at first, using snus may seem safe and less harmful. This is exactly how it is positioned by the manufacturers.
Safety regulations
To prevent the insurance pension number from being at the disposal of fraudsters, citizens should take care to comply with certain security rules.
Thus, all interaction with the pension fund should be carried out exclusively in the branches of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, in the MFC or through the Gosuslugi portal. It should be remembered that its employees never conduct rounds of insured persons.
A universal rule is to carefully study each document before signing it , especially in cases where they contain confidential information related to personal data.
In general, it should be remembered that SNILS, passport data and other similar information should not be provided to third parties unless there is a legal need.
In recent years, various scammers are increasingly trying to fraudulently obtain the insurance number of a personal account with the Pension Fund of Russia. Despite the fact that significant attacks on citizens’ property cannot be expected in this case, illegal schemes invented by fraudsters can significantly affect the implementation of their pension rights in the future. In this regard, it is highly recommended not to transfer information about SNILS and other confidential data to third parties.
Safety rules and protection measures
In order not to fall for the actions of scammers and not become their victim, you need to clearly define and distinguish between the actions of employees of organizations who act within the limits of their authority, and scammers who cannot prove their involvement in certain funds.
To ensure that the funds accumulated for retirement are not used, you should resort to the following actions:
- Never, under any circumstances, disclose the code (number) of your individual insurance certificate without any reason to do so.
- Remember that Pension Fund employees never bypass holders of insurance certificates by visiting them at their temporary residence or permanent registration address.
- Before signing any documents (especially those that indicate any data that makes it possible to identify a person), you must carefully study their contents. If you have the slightest doubt about the legality of the papers being signed, it would be better to call the organization from which the employee is supposedly applying, or directly to law enforcement agencies. At the same time, you should not be afraid to make a mistake - demonstrated vigilance sometimes helps to uncover entire schemes and bring to justice those who deceived a sufficiently large number of citizens.
