Fraudsters register accounts on the so-called “virtual SIM-cards” of both Russian and foreign operators. Customers are increasingly receiving calls from foreign numbers, for example, +84 95 ххххххх or +49 хххххх.
An additional threat is that most instant messengers allow you to specify any name of the subscriber when registering a number. Fraudsters take advantage of this trick and sign themselves with the “Central Bank”, “Bank Security Service”, “Investigative Committee”, etc. Clients see this on the smartphone screen during a call and start a conversation, providing the attackers with personal information.
Dmitry Ovchinnikov, Chief Specialist of the Department of Integrated Information Security Systems at Gazinformservice, told how to understand that scammers are calling you:
– It is important to understand that representatives of banks, the investigative committee and other government agencies never call via messenger. Also, a telephone conversation cannot be used in legal proceedings; a written application or explanation from a citizen to the bank, the UK, the police or the prosecutor’s office is always necessary. Therefore, never take the word of the caller, do not provide payment information (code on the back of the card, card number) and SMS codes. If you are not sure that these are scammers, then during the conversation, always insist on a personal meeting to testify or explain. At this stage, scammers usually immediately end the dialogue. Remember that the purpose of scammers is to scare you and drive you into time trouble, so stay calm and take your time in making decisions.
