Moscow Prepares Anti-Fraud 3.0 to Tighten SIM Card Sales

The rules would remove individual entrepreneurs who currently act as intermediaries between mobile operators and customers from arranging subscriber agreements. An industry estimate cited in the report says these intermediaries account for almost half of physical SIM purchases across Russia. The change could affect thousands of retail locations and potentially make mobile numbers less readily available in some areas.

T2, one of Russia's mobile operators, has argued that stronger intermediary requirements could work better than eliminating the intermediary model. The operator says it already checks customer identities and activates numbers only after the required verification procedures have been completed.

The proposal would also require operators to issue new SIM cards without money already loaded into their associated accounts. Customers would instead need to establish the service agreement before adding funds, creating a record connected with the eventual payment. Russia's Finance Ministry says this approach is intended to make numbers purchased for fraudulent purposes easier to trace through payment activity.

The ministry said, "Such measures will make fraudulent use of prepaid numbers or numbers obtained using another person's identity impossible." The ministry argues that prepaid numbers can allow criminals to obtain communication services, exploit them and then discard them after use.

Under the new plan, new SIM cards will not come with bonus funds. Even if free money is on the SIM, the user must make a purchase on the SIM to activate it. Requiring customers to add money after signing their service agreements could create payment records that investigators can examine during fraud cases. Payments made through terminals or communication outlets could additionally generate records that help authorities connect transactions with individual users.

The proposed package also considers requiring identifiable sender information for bulk text messages, with inaccurate details potentially triggering contract termination. It would prohibit automated calls made solely to check whether particular numbers remain active. Owners of websites and mobile applications could also face requirements to retain registration and login records for three years, and those records would be available to law enforcement when legally required, according to the proposed measures.

Russia already requires operators to verify customers before activating numbers, following communication law changes introduced in spring 2025. T2 and Beeline say their customers cannot use newly obtained numbers before completing the legally required identity verification. That means the proposed zero-balance requirement would add another control rather than simply introducing identification.

The Finance Ministry has stressed that Anti-Fraud 3.0 remains a work in progress, with industry recommendations still being considered before authorities make a final decision. TechRadar reported the details via 1.ru.