What is SNILS - let's break it down

Why do scammers need a SNILS number?

With the emergence of a huge number of non-state pension funds in Russia, it has become quite clear why scammers need SNILS - on behalf of the owner of the coveted 11-digit number, they simply transfer funds from the funded part of the insurance pension to a third-party non-state fund. Moreover, the transfer process itself, without taking into account the fact that the number was stolen, is a completely legal procedure.

The transfer of funds is carried out without notifying the owner. This happens to enrich individuals who enjoy the trust of people. For each transfer, the non-state fund pays its employees a bonus of 1000-2000 rubles.

Is it possible to report your SNILS number?

It is strictly forbidden to disclose the SNILS number to any people who ask for it. This number is the personal confidential information of each citizen, so it can only be used when independently contacting various government bodies and authorities.

It is strongly recommended not to provide your number to suspicious persons who approach you on the street, go door to door, or ask for personal information on the Internet. Also, you should not leave photocopies of your data anywhere, send photographs, etc.

What SNILS consists of and what the numbers in the insurance number mean can be found out here.

Legislation on SNILS

Until recently, regulation of the issue of issuing SNILS and registering personal data in the pension insurance system was carried out through Federal Law No. 27. However, for 2020, innovations in this law have been introduced and already signed with the help of another Federal Law No. 48 (dated April 2020) . This project abolished only part of the previously existing regulations, and also improved the operation of the device.

The new law covers issues of optimizing work in the direction of personalized pension records of citizens. There was an optimization of actions to open a pension account, informing citizens, as well as the organization of interdepartmental interaction on pension insurance issues. The most important innovation is the possibility of obtaining an electronic copy.

What can scammers do if they know their SNILS number, passport details and TIN

Attackers are actively hunting for the personal data of citizens, and they are interested not only in SNILS, but also in passports, tax identification numbers and other documents - their numbers and series, as well as other information.

Why is it dangerous to provide certain documents to scammers?

• SNILS. If an attacker somehow finds out the certificate number of a specific person, he will simply fill out an application on his own, sign it and transfer the accumulated pension contributions from his personal account from the Pension Fund to a non-state fund, which has its own interest rates. For each such trick, the fraudster receives a reward from the employer in the amount of 1,000 to 2,000 rubles, sometimes more. Many people even sign applications on their own, filling them out without reading the proposed document at all.
• Passport details. Having a copy or photograph of the pages of a citizen's passport in hand, attackers can perform various actions. Most often, passport data is used to achieve the following goals: taking out a loan from a microfinance organization, applying for a loan with the help of accomplices in a large bank, registering a company on behalf of the victim, which will engage in illegal activities. Practice shows that with the help of passport data, fraudsters can perform almost any action that is available to the real owner of the document. Even the photo doesn't matter.
• TIN. The TIN is not of particular value to fraudsters, because if you only have an individual tax number, there is no way to get rich or carry out fraudulent schemes - you will definitely need a passport or something else. Therefore, the TIN is usually stolen along with data from other documents of the victim.

Related article: What does SNILS consist of and what do the numbers in the insurance number mean?

Important! If you have passport data, fraudsters can request a TIN through government services.

How to draw up a document

Insurance number of an individual personal account

The citizen himself, his parents or his employer can receive this card. Self-registration is possible upon reaching 14 years of age, that is, after receiving a passport. The teenager, at his own request, pays a visit to the regional office of the Pension Fund of Russia and writes a statement. Parents can draw up a document immediately after the birth of a child or at any other age, until the child himself has the right.

As for the employer, there is a mandatory procedure. A citizen hired into an organization for a permanent job writes an application and fills out a standard questionnaire, submitting them to the personnel department. From there, within 14 days after the employment contract comes into force, the employee’s documents along with the application form are sent to the Pension Fund. Along the way, the boss orders a SSGPS for his new employee.

Registration of a citizen in the pension system means that the employer makes insurance contributions throughout the entire time the employee is registered with the enterprise.

The subordinate's pension account must be replenished no later than the due date. Delays in payments entail fines; delays are established by law as a gross violation.

The contract also provides for a similar procedure. The customer of the service is responsible for timely crediting of funds to the employee’s pension account. When the contractor just begins his work, the lessor issues the certificate himself. In the case of individual entrepreneurship, a citizen personally goes to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, registers himself and then, as expected, pays regular insurance premiums for himself.

The Pension Fund, having received documents from the employer, employee, individual entrepreneur or parents, must issue the card itself within 3 weeks and open the citizen’s personalized personal account. The completed SSGPS is delivered to the employer, after which he must make a copy of it for the employee’s personal file, and give the original certificate to the registered employee.

How scammers get a SNILS number

There are many schemes that criminals use to trick citizens into giving them personal information:

• checking or replacing documents;
• processing cash payments;
• increase in pension;
• filling out various applications for benefits and much more.

All these pretexts are used by criminals to get hold of the certificate number. Moreover, in some cases, scammers do not have to resort to tricks, because gullible people, especially those of retirement age, independently hand over all documents to them for “checking” and viewing, photographing, hoping to receive the promised monetary or social benefits.

Access to confidential information

Using the certificate number, criminals have the opportunity to register and log into an account on the State Services portal. At the moment, the site does not have additional security tools, so after authorization the attacker gets full access to the private personal information of the deceived citizen. In addition to State Services, the fraudster can also log into his personal account on the Pension Fund portal.

If the victim's account is completely filled out, the criminal receives the following data:

• passport;
• TIN;
• place of residence and registration;
• telephone number, e-mail;
• information about the availability of movable and immovable property;
• information about a citizen’s salary, paid contributions to funds;
• other information from the profile or history of requests for public services.

Risk of property losses

If a fraudster only knows a citizen’s SNILS number, then the latter is unlikely to suffer any property losses. They are only possible in a situation where the criminal obtains complete confidential information from the victim’s State Services account. In this case, he can take out a loan and set up a shell company, which is why the victim will face numerous proceedings with the police, judicial authorities, and private companies.

But what will they do using the SNILS number? Certain losses also include the transfer of the funded part of the pension according to SNILS to non-state funds. The danger of such a transfer is that the very fact of transferring funds will be unknown to the victim - no one will notify her about this, so deceived people usually find out this information by accident.

Related article: What is SNILS and why is it required in the hospital

Access on the State Services website

The presence of SNILS allows the fraudster to gain access to confidential information on the State Services portal, which was previously entered by the victim, his relatives or employees of government departments. Passport data and other information are required to receive even small, insignificant government services, so the profile must be at least partially filled out. After logging in under someone else’s account, the attacker receives all the information about the victim available on the site. Therefore, it becomes clear what exactly scammers can do if they know the SNILS number.

In cases where fraudsters have learned the SNILS number, it is necessary to contact law enforcement agencies and the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation to prohibit the transfer of the funded part of the pension to any funds - such a service is provided to the population. It is also worth changing the password on the State Services portal or choosing a more complex authorization method.

Why do you need SNILS?

17 June 2020 12:02

To answer this question you need to understand what “SNILS” is.
SNILS is the insurance number of an individual personal account. Why is it needed in the life of an ordinary person?

• in the absence of SNILS it is impossible to officially get a job;
• This number is necessary for the correct reflection of information provided by employers (policyholders) about the earned pension rights of insured persons (accrued and paid insurance contributions to the Pension Fund), length of service (including those giving the right to early pension provision) on the personal accounts of insured persons. Starting from 2020, insurance premiums and length of service are reflected in the form of individual pension coefficients on the citizen’s individual personal account with the Pension Fund;
• for correct accounting of voluntary payments to the Pension Fund.

Accordingly, the correct and complete reflection of data on insurance premiums, voluntary payments and length of service directly affect the amount of the received or future pension.

Besides:

• Without SNILS, it is impossible to receive state and municipal services via the Internet. Registration on the government services portal is possible only if SNILS is indicated;
• when receiving a number of government services, SNILS is used to create registers of citizens entitled to government services and benefits (for example, such as receiving free medicines, including for children);
• to reduce the number of documents when receiving various government services. SNILS serves as an identifier of information about a citizen in the system of interdepartmental interaction. With its help, government agencies independently request documents for the provision of public services (for example, for issuing certificates for maternity capital).

By the way, for schoolchildren and students who work part-time during the holidays, the presence of SNILS is of particular importance, since insurers (employers) charge insurance contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation from earnings (income) and these amounts, as well as work experience, must be reflected on the personal account of the insured person.

Let’s dwell on the question “How to apply for SNILS?”

In fact, the insured person needs to go through the registration procedure in the compulsory pension insurance system. Upon registration, an individual personal account is opened for the insured person and assigned a unique insurance number (SNILS). After registration is completed, the insured person is issued an “Insurance Certificate of Compulsory Pension Insurance” (the so-called “green card”), which contains an 11-digit insurance number - SNILS.

1. How can I obtain an insurance certificate for compulsory pension insurance?

Registration of the insured person in the compulsory pension insurance system is carried out by submitting a questionnaire of the insured person (form ADV-1). This questionnaire can be submitted to the territorial body of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation by the insured person personally or through the policyholder (employer). The insured person’s questionnaire can also be submitted to the MFC. The form is filled out on the basis of an identity document. The correctness of the information specified in the form is certified by a personal signature.

1. Is it necessary to provide the insured person’s questionnaire in person?

In exceptional cases, registration in the compulsory pension insurance system can be carried out on the basis of a questionnaire from the insured person, filled out by a proxy (if he has the appropriate documents) or submitted by mail. If the questionnaire is submitted by mail, the correctness of its completion and the fact of signature by the insured person personally is certified by a notary or an authority authorized by law to conduct notarial acts.

1. How can I obtain an insurance certificate of compulsory pension insurance for a child?

For young and minor children under the age of 14, the insured person’s questionnaire can be submitted to the territorial body of the Pension Fund or MFC by one of the parents or the child’s legal representative. The questionnaire can be submitted independently by minor children aged 14 to 18 years. The form is filled out on the basis of an identity document. The correctness of the information specified in the form and provided for young and minor children under the age of 14 is certified by the signature of the parent or legal representative of the child. The correctness of the information specified in the questionnaire provided by minor children aged 14 to 18 years is certified by a personal signature.

Fraud protection options

From what was described above, it became clear how scammers will be able to use the SNILS number. Therefore, it is worth protecting yourself and your loved ones (especially those of pre-retirement and retirement age) from the potential actions of attackers.

Options for protecting against personal data ransomware are as follows:

1. Never, under any circumstances, transfer personal data to third parties (when contacting on the street, during a personal visit to your home, etc.).
2. Always ask the person who introduced himself as an employee of the Pension Fund or other government departments for identification.
3. Call the police if there are any aggressive actions by intruders in your home.
4. Do not sign any contracts or agreements without reading them completely and clarifying each point.

What to do if scammers already have your SNILS number

Fraudsters who find out the number of the compulsory insurance card of citizens will certainly carry out various frauds with it. Therefore, you need to immediately call or personally visit a branch of the Pension Fund, asking department employees not to transfer the funded part of the pension to a non-state pension fund when such a request is received.

Article on the topic: SNILS for a child and how to get it through the State Services website

If the pension has already been transferred to a non-state fund, then you must write an application addressed to the head of this fund, indicating that consent to the transfer of pension savings was not given, so it is necessary to transfer them back to the Pension Fund (or another fund in which they were previously stored). It would also be a good idea to contact the police with a corresponding report of identity theft.

Safety rules for SNILS owners

There are several rules that are relevant for owners of insurance certificates of different ages:

• Pension Fund employees do not go to the homes of Russian citizens. Therefore, any persons who introduce themselves as employees of the Russian Pension Fund and ask to be allowed into the apartment are criminals.
• Before signing any contracts and papers, you must read them carefully and become familiar with each clause.
• When collaborating with recruitment agencies, you should not transfer SNILS to employees - they do not require such data by type of activity.
• Do not leave your certificate number on the Internet on any website. Such information on the network can only be requested by the Gosuslugi portal or the Pension Fund of Russia website; other resources asking for such data are fraudulent.
• The SNILS card cannot be handed over to third parties under any circumstances.

How to restore SNILS

Restoring a lost or damaged SNILS was relevant in Russia until April 2020. At the moment, the registration system has been improved so much that paper media are not required at all. Therefore, they are not issued to original applicants and are not required by reinstatement applicants. Previously, the issuance of a duplicate certificate occurred at the request of ADV-3.

Current applicants do not need to repeat the entire procedure. In this case, it is enough just to request your personal data in an application form when visiting the institution in person or when registering online (remotely at home or at the workplace). In the second option, the person will receive a response to the email address they specified.

Conclusion

The danger of scammers stealing your SNILS number is quite high. Using speech and conversation techniques, they convince Russian citizens (especially those of retirement age) to give them personal information under various pretexts. This is prohibited. Employees of none of the government services and departments do not go door to door and do not collect personal data of citizens of countries. Such requests can only be made at the Pension Fund branch, MFC or in the buildings of other government departments when preparing any documents and requests.

Video on the topic of the article

Documents required for obtaining a SNILS certificate

In this case, a citizen applying for SNILS is required to have an identification document (usually a passport), as well as a specialized questionnaire. What this is can be understood by opening the unified form ADV-1. The latter has been put into circulation since 2020 with the help of government decree No. 2p. This form is unified, which means all fields are preset and cannot be changed independently.

What is important when filling out the form:

1. Information indicated in the nominative case: full name, place of birth.
2. Gender is indicated by a single letter: “M” or “F”, respectively.
3. Dates are written in the following form: DD month YYYY. This applies to the date of birth of the applicant, the issue of the passport (or birth certificate), as well as the day he filled out the application form.
4. Citizenship is displayed using the current OKSM classifier.
5. The indication of the registration address, as well as the name of the authority that issued the passport, is presented strictly according to the relevant documentation (in a similar manner). For newborns, permanent registration is issued on a separate A5 sheet.

The rules are simple. The main principle of filling out such a questionnaire is maximum adherence to formality. To do this, it is enough just to indicate information in accordance with their documentary display. That is, to fill out the questionnaire yourself, you will need to prepare the necessary documentation in advance.