Deepfake Nation: How AI-Powered Scams Are Hitting Russia Where It Hurts

Russia is facing a new kind of cyberattack — one where the voice on the line sounds like your mayor, your governor, or your boss. Except it isn’t. It’s a synthetic imposter, and it wants your money.

In 2025, deepfake-driven fraud has exploded across the country. Scammers are deploying AI-generated voice and video content to impersonate local officials, send fake directives, and request urgent "cooperation." According to Igor Bederov, head of investigations at cybersecurity firm T.Hunter, the first three months of the year saw 61 unique deepfakes and over 2,300 derivative copies — a 2.6x increase from 2023.

And they’re getting more convincing. From fake Telegram messages to hyperrealistic video calls featuring regional leaders, scammers are tapping into the trust people place in familiar faces. “People in the provinces are especially vulnerable,” Bederov explains. “They’re more likely to trust content featuring their local leaders — and deepfakes spread faster than fact-checkers can catch them.”

The tech has outpaced awareness. Many of these synthetic scams show subtle but telling signs: unnatural facial movements, emotionless monotone delivery, and generic backdrops. Still, they're real enough to fool even seasoned professionals — especially in the public sector, where impersonated officials are often treated as urgent and authoritative.

The tactics are evolving fast. One of the latest schemes targets elderly citizens with fake calls promising “holiday payouts.” Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs recommends treating unknown numbers with suspicion, verifying all messages through official channels, and never sharing personal data by phone or messenger.

The financial damage? Experts estimate AI-assisted cybercrime in Russia topped 116 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) in 2024 alone.

Bottom line: this isn’t just spam — it’s an arms race. And the bad guys are using machine learning.