Women Less Likely to Be Scammed but Suffer Larger Losses: Central Bank Study

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Women in 2025 were less frequently targeted by financial scams, but more often than men they took actions that led to financial losses, according to a study conducted by the Bank of Russia. The survey involved around 460,000 participants from various regions of the country.

The study revealed that phone calls remain the most common method for scammers to reach potential victims. However, there was a significant increase in fraud cases involving phishing links, fake QR codes, and malware. Notably, attacks using malicious software proved to be the most dangerous, leading to theft of funds about twice as often as traditional phone calls.

Gender differences in fraud patterns were also highlighted. Women were more likely to fall victim to phone scams and often provided criminals with verification codes from SMS or push notifications. Men, on the other hand, were more frequently targeted through messaging apps, websites, and mobile applications, and were more prone to downloading infected files and disclosing sensitive information.

In most cases, the loss of funds occurred after victims themselves transferred money to scammers. The most common amount of loss was up to 20,000 rubles (approximately $250). However, the highest losses, exceeding 1 million rubles (about $12,500), were most frequently reported by elderly citizens.

Overall, 29% of survey participants encountered financial fraud in 2025, a decrease of 5 percentage points compared to the previous year. However, about one-third of victims admitted that they did not recall basic financial safety measures at the time of the fraudulent contact.

At the same time, the proportion of those who reported fraud to their bank and law enforcement agencies increased, reaching nearly 40%.