Security News > 2022 > October > Russians dodging mobilization behind flourishing scam market
Ever since Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered partial mobilization after facing setbacks on the Ukrainian front, men in Russia and the state's conscript officers are playing a 'cat and mouse' game involving technology and cybercrime services.
More specifically, many Russian men eligible for enlistment have resorted to illegal channels that provide them with fabricated exemptions, while those fleeing the country to neighboring regions turn to use identity masking tools.
The scammers are even aggressively promoting their fake services on social media and directly contacting people on channels that discuss the mobilization.
Another interesting trend that arose from the widescale exit of Russians is a 50% rise in the demand for the so-called "Gray" SIM cards, reported by Russian news outlet Kommersant.
Russians are frantically seeking these cards because the state can use regular SIMs to track young men eligible for military service and possibly stop them at the border.
According to the Russian internet rights organization Roskomsvoboda, there are multiple reports of people who FSB agents forced to give away their IMEI numbers while crossing the border to Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Finland.