MOSCOW, September 23 (RAPSI) - The cybercrime rate in Russia increased steeply in 2015 and caused damage to individuals and companies estimated at 6 billion rubles ($93 million), RIA Novosti reported Friday citing spokesman for the Prosecutor General’s Office Alexander Kurennoy.

Kurennoy cited data announced at the coordination meeting of chiefs of law enforcement bodies including Interior Ministry, Federal Security Service (FSB), Investigative Committee, Federal Service for Fiscal Monitoring, Federal Bailiff Service, Federal Supervision Agency for Information Technologies and Communications (Roskomnadzor) and Central Bank of Russia.

Russia’s Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika reported during the meeting that 44,000 cybercrimes were recorded in 2015; therefore the cybercrime rate increased quadruple when compared to 2014. The total of realized loss amounted to nearly 6 billion rubles, to the report says.

The main reason for such jump is increase in such crimes as fraud (from 2,200 to 13,400) and thefts (from 2,300 to 8,500) committed via the Internet, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

“Rate of crimes connected with stealing, removal and blocking computer information increased by a factor of 5.5. Mechanisms of depersonalized payments are frequently used by criminal groups for illegal drug and arms trade,” the agency quoted Kurennoy as having said.