The scammers caused damage to Lithuanians for 15 million. euros: executives of large companies are now wrapped around your finger

The number of cases decreased during the pandemic.

According to the Lithuanian police, fraud in 2020 compared to 2019, despite the pandemic, decreased by about 10 percent. According to R. Matonis, 2,877 pre-trial investigations were initiated in 2020, and in 2019 there were 3,159.

“As we can see, the trend is that fraud is decreasing, but we are seeing new forms of pandemics, with different quarantine requirements, being newer, more interesting,” he warned, saying that a number of schemes have moved to the Internet today. . The space where residents are offered to invest in uncertainties is misled through emails.

“The biggest risk of falling into the traps of scammers is opening multiple emails, clicking dark drop-down links, entering another platform where a person’s mind goes dark, they think they can win something, get rich.

Also the same electronic purchases when people start buying from obscure emails. Big discounts in stores with low prices. People believe that quality items can be obtained cheaply, then they transfer money and receive no items, “he warned.

As he has assured, the most common victims are not only the elderly or less educated in finance, but also the managers and accountants of large companies.

“And the amounts vary widely, from a few hundred to a few tens or even hundreds of thousands.

Overall, according to statistics, last year the damage caused by various frauds was more than 15 million. EUR. That’s pretty impressive, “said R. Matonis.

When asked if, had they been deceived, people always and willingly turn to the police, R. Matonis said that everything happens.

According to the police, as a rule, those who have been caught by scammers, such as those who want to obtain a driver’s license illegally, and those who are ashamed to admit that they were naïve and that they were caught on such a hook, generally avoid.

“In the latter case, people often shake hands and don’t go to the police and cancel the money at a loss. We are talking about official statistics, but there may be more cases that we don’t even know about,” he said, adding that it is necessary to contact the police, because the more one or another form of fraud is discussed, the sooner it is not done.It is already applicable, because many people find out and the scammers are forced to change their tactics.

According to R. Matonis, last year the police investigated 60 percent. Of all the scams that were investigated and asked to draw a picture of the scammers, he said that people in prison, as well as those living abroad, are often involved in the fraud.

Losing hundreds of thousands

Audrius Šapola, Chairman of the Financial Crime Prevention Committee of the Lithuanian Banking Association (LBA), also pointed out that if we compare the fraud scams that occur today with the situation 10-15 years ago, we would see obvious differences.

“And the reasons for that are very obvious, as we do more and more things online today. We buy milk from it, we communicate with friends, we work, orders have been moved to smart tools and all the changes also lead to changes in fraud, ”he said.

According to the LBA, the population lost 4.5 million last year due to scams. Eur, but if this amount increases or decreases with the year, A. Šapola could not say, because the association, he explained, is making these calculations recently.

“We don’t have much to compare with, but to say that this is the final amount that the Lithuanian population lost due to financial fraud, this is not the case, because it is only the data of the association members, but there are other companies, persuasions and other service providers.

By comparison, in Estonia, the police informed the public that the population had lost around 12 million people to phone and online scams. EUR. Lithuania, as you know, is a much bigger country, our figures (€ 4.5 million) are just the tip of the iceberg and the real loss is much greater, ”he said.

As assured, the main fraud scheme currently most widespread in the country can be considered investment fraud, where people are persuaded to invest their money in certain financial instruments and, although small amounts are initially transferred, then they increase.

“People just give their money to scammers by transferring it to scam-controlled bank accounts, and the latter on fictitious investment platforms show that the money that people transfer generates a great return, and people think it is a real investment; they invest even more money, and that loss can be impressive at times. There can be several tens, hundreds of thousands of sums “, revealed A. Šapola one of the schemes.

Get Your Money Back – Chances Are Low

An LBA spokesperson also assured that banks have safeguards and see large orders being filled on a daily basis, but often bank customers simply don’t request alerts from bank staff for scammers.

“We face these kinds of problems, and especially when it comes to investment fraud, romance fraud, that people who hear a bank warning that a person may be caught in a scam are more likely to believe scammers than employees. banks transfer that money.

There are a lot of cases where bank employees call and the customer says it’s okay to be alerted, but I still want to make that request. This is typical of romantic scams in which a person believes they have a friend somewhere they could have a life together. It’s the rule that in nine out of 10 cases, people continue to transfer that money to scammers, “he said.

A.Šapola also stated that the probability of recovering the money transferred from scammers is very low and reaches only 10-15%, which is due to two reasons.

“Money moves between bank accounts very quickly, just a few seconds and the transfer is credited to the beneficiary’s account, unless the beneficiary’s bank, with the consent of the account holder, agrees to return the money, only then can the money be returned.

Another reason why scammers don’t keep money received in bank accounts. They are forwarded or refined, and in many cases of fraud, the time that elapses between making a transfer and notifying the bank that you have been a victim of a scam is long, it can be months or weeks. And when the banks turn to the beneficiary banks, that money does not exist, so there is no possibility of recovering something, ”he explained.

Scams will only increase

IT expert Marius Pareščius also claimed that scammers are generally discovering new schemes and scams.

“I have to be attentive to what is happening in Europe, what is happening in the Eastern countries, then they have had certain schemes for a long time. Maybe it’s just scammers and thieves who got smarter and learned to copy those things from each other, “he said.

M. Pareščius also warned those who tend to fill out various online questionnaires and participate in various lotteries.

He said that your data should not be disclosed to anyone, as you can never be sure where your data will be used later.

“You can’t be sure who will be on that site in a month, a year, or a few, as often the holders of that data don’t care much about their security, and hacking the site will leak your personal data and use it as data. I recommend not filling out these forms at all, and if you do fill them out, you must complete them depersonally and provide as little information as possible, “he said.

In general, he explained that the Internet is like a street, so if you do not use your passport and personal data when you go out, you must do the same on the Internet.

“The number of scams will increase several times in the future, so we must be prepared and think about it every day so that our data is not made public anywhere, the information is hidden and protected as much as possible by the institutions to which we entrust it, “warned M. Pareščius.