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Russia is introducing new penalties for sharing one’s SIM card or phone with another person — or even just forwarding a text message with a one-time verification code. The State Duma has passed laws amending both the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses to incorporate the changes.
The measures are part of a broader effort to crack down on fraud, which has rapidly proliferated in the years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In recent months, authorities have rolled out a series of initiatives aimed at limiting Russians’ contact with scammers. But these same changes are also creating new risks for ordinary citizens.
So Russia seriously banned people from letting others use their phones?
Yes — and the ban was actually signed into law several months ago, though it hasn’t taken effect yet. On April 1, Vladimir Putin signed a law titled “On the creation of a state information system to combat offenses committed using information and communication technologies, and on amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation.”
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