Cases of visits to citizens' apartments in many regions of the country by persons posing as pension fund employees and asking for insurance numbers of individual personal accounts (hereinafter referred to as SNILS), which have occurred in recent years, have raised many questions.
The main interest of people who are accustomed to regular deception is what fraudsters can do if they know the SNILS number and what actions should be taken to establish that illegal actions have been committed against them.
Transfer money to another PF
Not everyone knows that some time ago two parts were provided for the formation of a pension: funded and insurance. The insurance part was always transferred to the Pension Fund, and the funded part also aroused interest among non-state pension funds (NPFs).
Certain amounts of money were deposited into the savings part over several years, as a result of which significant capital was accumulated, which, if managed wisely, can generate serious income. It was this money that aroused increased interest. Each non-state pension fund has a desire to gain control over part of these amounts.
Don’t remind me, what is SNILS?
In Russia, the basis of a future pension is the insurance premiums that employers pay for you and me. From the moment a person registers in the pension fund system, each person receives an insurance number for an individual personal account. This is SNILS. Information about work experience, places of work, contributions and earned pension points is attached to it.
By default, the money goes to the state Pension Fund of Russia (PFR). But you can transfer them to some non-state fund (NPF), if, for example, you do not trust the government.
Fraudulent actions with SNILS number on the Internet
Remember! This situation threatens with more unpleasant consequences. In certain cases, citizens lose real amounts, albeit small ones. In addition, a stolen number can be used to steal money from other people.
The website created by scammers contains information that using the SNILS number it is possible to find out information about the funded part of pension savings, which are dispersed across several little-known funds that are ready to return them to their owners.
To enter the database, a nominal fee of 100-200 rubles is required, which attracts site visitors. Such resources are constantly monitored and blocked. However, their number does not decrease; instead of one blocked site, several appear at once.
Having checked the result, the owner of SNILS is pleasantly surprised - as it turned out, he could be transferred from 100 to 200 thousand rubles, which, of course, does not exist.
But the scammers don’t stop there: they make an offer to transfer all personal data and make another payment, but this time from 185 to 235 rubles (to be sure, the amounts are not round) in order to return the funds to their account.
Note! This can go on forever:
- They will offer to transfer approximately 500 rubles. for the purpose of identifying a person (checking personal data);
- about 400 rub. to pay for a PIN code for a card that no one intends to issue;
- more than 1,300 rub. for identification number;
- 1,500 rub. for legal services.
A person can stop this only if he realizes that he is simply being scammed.
As a result of such actions, attackers receive information about the SNILS number, personal data, and even money.
The hype around pensions
Anyone who is worried about whether he is in danger of a loan that he did not take out or other material losses, if scammers have found out his SNILS number, should calm down.
A variety of schemes in force today are aimed at transferring the transfer of pension contributions from employers to non-state pension funds (hereinafter referred to as NPFs).
The most common ways in which unscrupulous businessmen obtain new clients for various non-state pension funds can be formulated as follows:
- manipulation of people's consciousness by presenting false information about changes in the procedure for the formation of pension savings and the required procedures;
- the use of pseudo-recruitment agencies with numerous vacancies to force job seekers who want to get jobs to sign an application for the transfer of contributions to a non-state pension fund.
What they can't come up with
In order to mislead gullible citizens and force them to provide their SNILS number, NPF scammers usually visit apartments or stop people in crowded, busy places.
In most cases, introducing themselves as employees of the Russian Pension Fund and presenting false identification, neat young people aged 25–30 years of attractive appearance, under various pretexts, obtain SNILS numbers from their owners , in particular:
- Referring to the need to prepare documents required to ensure that the percentage of contributions to the funded part of pension savings does not decrease.
- Arguing the need to present SNILS to the census conducted by the Russian Pension Fund in order to issue additional inserts, without which the certificates will supposedly be invalid.
- Frankly offering to transfer the funded part of the pension to a non-state pension fund by signing the appropriate form and application.
All representations by employees of the Russian Pension Fund are illegitimate, since this organization does not practice any census or direct work with citizens, and home visits are provided only for incapacitated persons and persons with limited mobility.
And I didn’t get a job, and the pension fund changed
This is exactly how, in one sentence, we can formulate the activities of numerous recruitment agencies, in particular in Moscow and St. Petersburg , which attract the working class and service personnel with multiple and varied vacancies of highly paid work.
People who come for an interview are interviewed, fill out questionnaires and, along with an agreement to search for suitable vacancies, sign an application to transfer contributions from the funded part of the pension to a non-state pension fund.
After completing all the paperwork, applicants are promised a call back, after which they will need to confirm their consent to transfer savings, and after a few days they will be offered suitable vacancies.
After a telephone confirmation of consent , the job seeker no longer receives calls, and the result of contacting a recruitment agency is another promise that he will be contacted soon.
Why such difficulties?
For intermediaries who deceive or manipulate people, such SNILS fraud is a way to receive an agency fee for each affiliated NPF participant , amounting to 3-5 thousand rubles and paid after transferring the funded part of the pension.
A non-state fund, having received the savings of citizens, attracts funds that can be invested at their own discretion and receive income many times greater than the 5–6% commission paid to all participants at the end of the year.
Such a turn of events may be beneficial even to the “victims” of the fraudulent transfer of pension savings to a commercial structure that pays a higher interest on deposits than is provided for by the terms of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.
What to do if you become a victim of scammers
The advice of many “legal experts” on thematic forms, which consists in the need to contact law enforcement agencies, is groundless, since the actions of businessmen from NPFs, who are called scammers, do not contain a crime under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation .
The deception or abuse of trust that they practice is not a sufficient reason, since real damage to interests and rights is not caused , money is not appropriated, but the right to manage savings is simply transferred.
To return the right to manage the funded part of the pension to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation or transfer it to another non-state pension fund, and not the one that was imposed by enterprising businessmen, you will need to write an application to the fund where you want to transfer funds .
In March of the year following the one in which the application for transfer of savings was written, the transaction will be completed, along with the interest earned by the unscrupulous NPF.
An enterprising pension fund that has unjustly received the funded part of a pension can make a claim by requesting justification for the transfer of funds , in the event that voluntary consent in the form of an application was not signed.
In the absence of an answer or its weak argumentation, you can go to court with a claim, the subject of which should be the unlawful enrichment of NPFs from funds obtained fraudulently, and you need to apply for payment of material benefits received from their investment.
It should be remembered that the benefits from such litigation will significantly exceed the costs of it , and the process can take more than one month or even years.
How to protect your rights
The most obvious solution for citizens who do not want the fate of their savings to be decided by an enterprising businessman from the NPF would be not to show their SNILS to anyone and not to sign any statements or agreements , except those chosen of their own free will.
To protect yourself from unauthorized transfer of the funded portion of your pension during the current reporting period, you can contact a representative of your pension fund with a statement stating the requirement to maintain contributions throughout the year.
If there is such a statement, which is considered primary, any attempts to transfer savings will be unsuccessful .
Other ways to use your insurance number
When using electronic wallets in separate systems, you need to enter not only personal data, but also identification numbers.
For example, when registering a wallet in the Yandex Money system, a citizen is required to enter not only personal data, but also a SNILS number. This information is enough for scammers.
The purpose of such accounts is to withdraw money that is stolen from the accounts or bank cards of other citizens.
Important! There will be no material damage to the owner of the number. However, when the fact of the crime is established, he will spend a lot of time explaining to law enforcement officers.
Also, using the SNILS number, scammers register fake accounts on social networks and online stores in order to attract customers by writing positive reviews.
What to do if they do recognize him?
What to do if scammers find out your SNILS number? Almost nothing. The police will not help - there is no evidence of a crime. The Pension Fund will not change the number - it is issued for life.
If the funded part of the pension has not yet been transferred, you must write a statement about your desire to keep it in the accounts of the previous fund. In this case, the scammers will receive nothing.
If the funds nevertheless went to another fund, an application is also written to transfer the money to the old PF, where they will return after 5 years (according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, funds can be transferred from one PF to another once every 5 years).
Access to confidential information
If the login to your account in the Unified System of Identification and Authentication (USIA) is not protected using additional tools, fraudsters have the opportunity to obtain personal information using the State Services portal and personal account on the Pension Fund website.
Depending on how detailed the citizen’s profile is filled out, the attacker has the opportunity to find out information about:
- passport data and TIN, registration address;
- contact information (phone number and email);
- real estate and cars owned;
- sources of income of a person and the amount of contributions paid;
- other data from the profile and history of activity on the site.
List of information collected on a citizen’s individual personal account
SNILS contains the following information in three sections:
| No. | Type of information in SNILS | What is included |
| 1 | General |
|
| 2 | Special |
|
| 3 | Professional |
|
Will they be able to get a loan?
Many people who have suffered from the actions of criminals are worried that SNILS is used when applying for a loan.
On the one hand, this is true, but you need to keep in mind that banking organizations conduct a thorough check of citizens and, in addition to SNILS, require them to:
- presenting a passport;
- personal signature;
- personal visit to the office to obtain a loan and draw up an agreement.
Please note! Applying for a loan using someone else's SNILS is unlikely, so there is no need to worry about debt obligations.
Do I need to change SNILS when changing my last name?
Sooner or later, the personal data that was indicated in SNILS may be changed and therefore they will no longer correspond to the passport data. In this case, the person who changed his last name must also change the document, otherwise it will be considered invalid.
To change your last name on a document, you need to contact the local branch of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation (it doesn’t matter how exactly - through work or yourself). There he will need to submit an application to change the data contained in SNILS. They will later be reflected on a new copy of this document, where a different surname will be noted.
Important!
The issuance of a document with already changed personal data is carried out in “real time”.
Safety regulations
In 2020, no changes regarding pensions will be made to the legislation.
Accordingly, SNILS owners should adhere to the following rules:
- The internal regulations of the Pension Fund of Russia do not contain provisions according to which employees visit citizens at their place of residence (the appearance of Pension Fund employees in a citizen’s apartment is impossible!);
- Do not sign any documents without studying the contents;
- When applying for a job, do not tell your SNILS to the employees of the recruitment agency - such information is not required;
- When visiting websites, if you request a SNILS number, you need to remember that such information is provided only on the State Services web resource;
- Do not give the insurance certificate into the hands of strangers.
By following these simple recommendations, you can protect yourself from serious problems.
Watch the video. A new type of fraud - payments according to SNILS:
Who and why goes to apartments and asks for SNILS?
To summarize, it should be noted once again that scammers can pose as employees of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, employees of non-state pension funds and persons conducting public opinion polls who want to benefit from each client by transferring a pension to a dubious fund or transferring money to another account. These unscrupulous citizens may be very educated, pleasant to talk to, and carry identification confirming their involvement in a specific organization.
In order not to get into an unpleasant situation and, especially, not to lose your own money, you need to have basic concepts of pension contributions. The transfer of the funded portion should be submitted directly to the selected organization.
Pension fund employees are not authorized to go to clients’ homes and offer services! All information regarding SNILS is confidential, so any accruals and movements of funds can only be found out at the Pension Fund branch or on the government services portal.
Results
SNILS is an official document that a citizen of the Russian Federation must have, no matter whether he is a native resident of the country or a foreigner working in the country officially. One simple number of eleven digits on a green plastic card contains all the information about the citizen: his profile, work experience and all the deductions that he or his employers made. It can be obtained in several different ways, and in a fairly short time, and with it many closed doors in life open.
Is it possible to refuse SNILS?
Sometimes a situation arises when a citizen wants to refuse SNILS.
- Religion. Reasons of this kind are considered acceptable, since a person is an individual, and he has every right to have the position that he does not want to identify himself with any number.
- Accounts are messed up. A person who wants to give up SNILS may have problems with accounts. Some accounts may be closed, others may be opened with errors.
Important!
Not long ago, a number of regions of the Russian Federation began to issue SNILS and automatically assign identification numbers to newborns. This innovation allows young parents to free up time for themselves, which they can devote to their child, whose life has just begun.
