Telephone fraud is an easy and relatively safe way for an attacker to take possession of other people’s money.
Because in such cases, people practically give away their own money. A couple of phrases, tricks, manipulations – and the job is done. Finding scammers is difficult, but possible. Proving that the money was given under pressure is no longer an easy task. Therefore, it is important to be able to recognize attackers from the first seconds of a telephone conversation in order to stay with your money.
So, you receive a call from the bank:
- if it’s a call to messenger, we immediately hang up without hesitation. Bank employees never call on Viber or Whatsapp;
- fraudsters can introduce themselves as anyone: the police, the prosecutor’s office, the National Bank, the Association of Belarusian Banks, the KGB, and also intimidate with articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus.
Remember: a call via messenger is a suspicious call.
- Nothing prevents you from ending the conversation, checking online the official contact number of the organization or association whose representative the scammer presented himself as, calling back and clarifying the purpose of the call.
- are they calling supposedly from your bank? It’s even simpler: the contact center phone number is always indicated on the back of your payment card.
- are they calling supposedly from a bank that you have never been serviced by? They are definitely trying to deceive you.
How scammers steal money.
Emotional pressure is a favorite tool of telephone scammers.
- from the very first seconds, the conversation is escalated by the risk of losing your money or freedom for various reasons: applying for a loan, confirming a transaction for a large amount, opening a criminal case or conducting an investigation;
- and then the interlocutor suggests (for your safety, of course) to install some application on your smartphone: antivirus, data encryptor, password protection;
- in fact, under such an application there is a program with which scammers gain full access to your device in order to carry out any fraud without your knowledge;
- But for the full operation of banking applications, no additional programs are required. Installing third-party software puts all the information on your phone at risk.
What else can scammers ask or promise:
- remain silent and do not tell third parties about the conversation;
- do not contact the police or bank for confirmation, as they allegedly catch a bank employee;
- refund and repayment of the “loan.”
Neither bank employees nor government officials will force you to remain silent over the phone. For this purpose there is a non-disclosure document, which is signed exclusively on paper!
The first thing to do after such a call is to check your phone for suspicious and unfamiliar applications, and also contact the police, bank and report fraud. Police and bank employees will help you understand this situation and guide you in further actions
According to information from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.
