Announces Recorded Conversation With Scammers – He understood the plan, but money from strangers started flowing into the account

Created a compelling outline

In early October, the person who called Tom showed up from the police station and informed him that his identity had been used: the scammers had allegedly made a forged identity card, bank cards and emails in his name. bank agreement, PIN code generator.

In the sent transcript of the interview, a man is heard introducing himself as a representative of the police and indicating the name of another officer and the telephone number where he should report to the police station.

“A person (allegedly a thief – Delphi) is arrested after a search, Swedbank, SEB and Luminor cards with his name were found in the trunk of his car, ”says the telephone scammer. A little later, he asks Tom if he uses the services of all these banks. The man clarifies that he uses Luminor and Swedbank.

The scammers later mimicked the merger, they said, with Swedbank’s safety and security department.
Another defendant confirmed that the cards were supposedly made in the name of the interlocutor and should be blocked.

Tom checked how many valid cards he had. The fraudster, who introduced himself as a bank employee, pretended not to verify this information in his system, but eventually escaped: “In any case, we will have to block all of your bank cards. You will have to come to the branch and pick up new ones.

Won’t you have a problem with not being able to log into your online banking for three hours? In three hours, your old user number will change to a new one and you can continue using your email. banking. Do you remember your old user number? “

Tom dictated the personal code and identification code provided by the bank, and the scammer provided a new user number. He also reported that to email. will send a message to your personal bank account: “We will provide you with the IP addresses from which an attempt was made to initiate overnight financial transfers. I’m sending you now, can you verify your mobile signature now? “

Timely noticed the deception

If the mobile signature could not be verified during the conversation, Tom had to end the conversation.

“I hang up, I send two messages, three in total, sorry. I’ll call you later,” says the scammer.

“After the interview, I connected to Swedbank and Luminor Banking, entering the SPIN1 code of the mobile signature according to the confirmation codes that they sent me and identified. However, I probably entered it once with an unrecognized verification code. In the course of logging in and reviewing the messages from the bank, I became aware of the fraud, ”says the interlocutor.

The scam was called to Tom 2 more times, he was asked to confirm his mobile signature, but the man refused to enter the SPIN1 code. On the same day, he received several more requests to sign with a mobile firm from the Swedbank and Luminor banking systems.

“The next day I received an SMS from Swedbank informing me that my loan application was not approved.
Two days later, I realized that there were illegal transfer transactions and money transfers from strangers in my account, ”says Tomas.

In total, about 600 EUR appeared in his account, but these funds, he says, were returned by the bank. After finding the contacts of a stranger from whom he received the transfer, Tom discovered that the scammers had also hacked into his bank account.

Police: 38 percent cleared this year. cases

How Delphi The Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau (LKPB) reported on fraud, when victims are called by scammers who pretend to be law enforcement officers and / or employees of the financial sector and attract emails. Banking login details happen every month, but compared to the total number of scams, they are not common.

In January-September of this year. this type of fraud accounted for about 5 percent. of all recorded cases of fraud.

The highest number of cases of this type was registered in January-March, when the monthly average of events was 15 cases. Later, in April-September. the monthly average of such events was reduced to 2 cases.

During 2020 January-September the police have initiated investigations into 60 cases of this type of fraud. Compared to last year, the trend remains similar: 54 cases were recorded last year.

“Since 2020, investigations into this type of fraud began in October. 38 percent were cleared. Cases. Since 2019. 54% of studies launched For the remaining cases, investigations continue,” comments the LKPB.

According to the criminal police, scammers usually attract between a few hundred and a few thousand euros: funds, since the victims themselves or the bank employees notice the fraud and block financial transactions initiated fraudulently. “

LBA: 248 cases of fraud were registered this year

Aidas Budrys, Acting President of the Lithuanian Banking Association (LBA), comments that so-called “phishing”, or fraud to illegally obtain confidential personal data, is one of the most common scams. It uses different technologies: both phone calls, SMS messages and emails.

“Through email, SMS, and phone calls, scammers pretend to be recognized and legitimate organizations, such as law enforcement officials or bankers,” and seek to pose as personal banking details over the Internet. Relevant topics are often used, for example, it is reported that the time has come to update your account, complete the questionnaire, receive compensation, download important information, ”says A. Budrys.

According to the LBA, in the first nine months of this year, 248 cases of fraud were registered through forged telephone calls and SMS messages and letters, and the damages caused by them amounted to 477 thousand. euros. In comparison, during the same period, a total loss of 3.4 million euros.

When is it possible to recover lost money?

However, according to the Acting President of the LBA, in some cases it is possible to recover lost funds: “Personal login or bank account data can be compared to house keys or a safe: if you give them to strangers to Will, this recklessness can cost you. Once the funds have been credited to the beneficiary’s account, the bank will not be able to return them on its own.

In such cases, the bank asks the beneficiary’s bank for a refund of the money transferred illegally. This is possible if they are still on the account. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that in the case of fraud, more than one executor and many accounts are often used, often at foreign financial institutions. For these reasons, financial and credit institutions will keep their clients informed of possible fraud scenarios and their trends. “

According to the LBA, it is crucial not only to store your bank account login details, but also not to share your account number with unknown people. There is currently an active fight against money laundering in the world, in which the criminal population can get involved through money mule schemes. Typically, through fraud, misleading job advertisements, and promises, people are recruited to transfer money through their personal bank account without knowing the true source of those funds.

How to protect yourself?

“The most important advice is not to strictly trust the information received if it does not reach your phone or email box in response to your request, for example, to the official address of the bank’s customer service department. If you receive an email electronic with an unusual offer, a request from an unknown recipient, be especially careful. And if you present yourself as a representative of a well-known company, service or other institution, apologize and end the interview and find the necessary contacts of the specified organization on the Internet, call yourself and check if that person works there and if the circumstances described above were true.

Don’t give in to emotional pressure if someone says your account has been “invaded,” that criminals have made a “duplicate” based on your bank card, or that you mention other unusual and intimidating situations. Remember the main recommendation: never and never reveal your personal login details to the internet bank, check the sender or link address every time, do not click on the links and attached media if you are not sure of the identity of the sender.

The criminal police offer some more tips:

– the more you talk to the scammer, the more anxious you will feel and the more difficult it will be to recognize the scam;
– do not make lightning decisions, do not disclose personal data, do not transfer money to other people’s bank accounts;
– law enforcement officers, employees of banks and other institutions do not have the right and never request (dictations) personal data, bank cards, generators, electronic banking access codes, passwords, etc. by phone;
– law enforcement officers, bank employees and other institutions do not mediate between the victim and the offender in solving monetary problems.

If you suspect you have found or detected a scam, report it to the police immediately by calling 112. Reporting to the police will help you identify the scam more efficiently and quickly.