Starting March 1, 2027, Russian mobile operators will notify users if an incoming call originates from a foreign network. Subscribers will be able to activate a self-ban on such calls via the Gosuslugi portal or at Multifunctional Centers (MFC). Disabling the ban will require a personal visit to an MFC.
A survey by Mar Consult, involving 1,200 respondents aged 18-65, reveals that 66% of participants have encountered phone scammers in the past year. Most fraudulent calls (59%) originate from Russian numbers, while 21% come from international sources. Only 8% of respondents are well-informed about the upcoming self-ban regulation.
Public opinion on the measure is mixed: 43% of users are ready to enable the self-ban, while 30% are not. Concerns persist that the measure will be ineffective, as 42% of respondents believe scammers will continue to use local or spoofed numbers. Currently, 19% of users plan to enable the feature immediately upon its launch.
Respondents favor various filtering tools: 73% support spam number labeling, 70% back a unified blacklist, and 65% approve of foreign call notifications. Regarding the self-ban mechanism, 43% prefer activation via mobile operator apps, while 68% advocate for online options to lift the restriction, despite the mandatory MFC visit requirement.
