Although the public is regularly informed about various types of fraud, criminals still manage to defraud people of significant amounts of money. With scams ranging from scam calls to romance scams, everyone can experience financial crime at some point. Luminor’s fraud prevention expert Marija Briede reminds us how not to become a victim of fraudsters and what information the bank will never ask for.
Do not disclose sensitive information
Financial fraudsters aim to criminally defraud people of personal data and money. In order not to fall into the clutches of fraudsters, the disclosure of any sensitive information should be evaluated very carefully and critically. “It is important to remember that bank representatives will not call you or write e-mails to find out account or payment card details, such as the card number or CVV code on the back of the card. Also, the bank will never ask you to install new software to allegedly provide double protection or provide a secure communication channel. The only situation when the bank can ask you to authenticate using the internet banking access data is if you call one of the publicly available bank phone numbers listed on the website – this is necessary to confirm your identity a bank employee can invite the person to connect to the internet bank independently and provide advice on how to connect/perform the activity that the client himself wants to perform. For example, a request to join the internet bank, get acquainted and provide an answer to a request for information,” emphasizes Luminor’s fraud prevention expert.
If you seem to have received unusual calls or messages from your bank, contact your bank immediately using a secure method of communication, such as a phone number listed on the website or the online banking communication system.
Evaluate the e-mails you receive
For a long time, one of the most popular fraud methods around the world is phishing – an attacker sends a fraudulent message, the purpose of which is to make the victim reveal sensitive information or to install malicious software on the victim’s computer, with the help of which information can be obtained – passwords, card data from the computer purchases made, websites visited and other information about the activities performed. To get the message recipient to open an attachment or a fraudulent website, the sender of the email or text message usually looks like a legitimate and trustworthy company or person – scammers fake or copy company logos or pretend to be a friend or family member so that the message they receive does not raise suspicions of fraud .
“A classic example of phishing begins by creating a website that may look like the login page of a trusted bank. The fraudster then sends out a large number of emails purporting to come from the bank, asking recipients to enter their personal bank details on the fake website. information, such as online banking usernames, and confirm actions with PINs to perform actions specified in the email, such as canceling the fraudster’s payment. Once the fraudster obtains this personal information, he tries to access the victim’s bank account using the data already entered on the fake website in a real online bank, ” explains the expert. In order to protect yourself from such scams, it is always important to carefully check the sender’s e-mail address, as well as the website to which the letter invites you to go (this is done by moving the cursor over the referring link to reveal the full website address).
Pay attention to the language of communication
Financial fraudsters are often residents of other countries and use Russian, less often also English and Latvian for communication. It is important to take into account that official institutions in Latvia, including banks, address people in Latvian. “Always pay attention if you are contacted by unfamiliar phone numbers, especially if the caller appears to be from abroad. If the caller poses as a bank representative and immediately indicates a threat that needs to be eliminated, the best solution is to immediately end the conversation and contact yourself with the bank by calling a publicly available number and asking whether a bank employee really called,” the Luminor expert recalls. She also points out that sometimes scammers’ messages contain grammatical errors and are written stylistically incorrectly. It is important to critically evaluate any message from unknown numbers, however, you must also remember – today’s modern tools are so advanced that fraudsters can create the impression that messages are sent from senders you know.
If you have become a victim of fraud or suspect fraud, report the incident to the bank and the police immediately.
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