[ad_1]
According to the police, on July 8 alone, 3 cases of wire fraud were recorded in Lithuania and another 2 were recorded on July 7.
It’s not just people who suffer
According to the Lithuanian police, 4 Lithuanian residents have been affected by wire fraud in recent days. The oldest victim is currently 93 years old and the youngest 43 years old.
The largest loss suffered by the resident was 28 thousand. the minimum is EUR 8,539.
In most cases, money is attracted by the population when they are called by people posing as bank or police officers. They usually ask for a personal login to bank information or offer to take the money home.
As far as is known, one company was also affected by the scams. However, it is interesting that in this case part of the company’s funds were protected, because the bank where the company kept the money suspended some transactions.
“July 7 around 2 pm 20 minutes. In Vilnius, company employees called a person who presented himself as a bank employee and fraudulently tried to misappropriate 24,650 euros from the bank account, initiating two financial transactions.
After the illegally started operations, the bank was able to cancel and return € 14,750 to the company’s account. Loss – 9,900 euros. A pre-trial investigation has been launched, ”reports the Lithuanian police.
In all cases of fraud recorded by the police, a pre-trial investigation under the Penal Code was launched following the submission of statements from residents.
Banks never ask for your data
At the time, the banks, in turn, also said they noticed an escalation of scammers. They are informed by the affected customers.
For example, Indrė Baltrušaitienė, Head of Communications at Luminor Bank, says that in cases where the bank’s security systems identify fraudulent behavior, such as a suspicious transaction with a payment card, affected customers are immediately informed.
“Depending on the breach of bank card security, the bank will need to specify the actions taken to prevent possible criminal activity (the card is fully restricted, limited only to online payments, etc.).
It also indicates what actions the customer should take: assess the atypical nature of the transactions carried out, renew the payment card or contact the bank by a general telephone number ”, says I. Baltrušaitienė.
However, the Head of Communication points out that it is very important that clients are vigilant and do not allow financial scammers to access their funds.
“We ask customers not to disclose confidential data to others: payment card number, including expiration date and security code, passwords, Internet bank login details. At the same time, we remind you that the bank never asks for this information by e-mail, by mail rather than by phone or mail. If someone asks you for this information, it is a serious sign that you are possibly communicating with the scammer, “says I. Baltrušaitienė.
It adds that it is recommended to check your account balance, the transactions made and the amounts reserved in the account periodically. Because you have this habit, it is likely that you will soon notice suspicious actions, says I. Baltrušaitienė, and if there is a suspicion that your account may have been available to scammers, notify the bank immediately.
At the time, Swedbank spokesman Saulius Abraškevičius reveals that the bank receives reports from customers about fraudulent attacks almost daily, during which customers disclose their personal details on online banking and payment cards.
“Time is a key factor to prevent economic losses. It is necessary to inform the bank and the police as soon as possible that external persons may have access to personal data, ”says S. Abraškevičius.
Banks Citadele and SEB have not yet commented on the article, but have previously told the news portal that it is important to remember that the bank never requests the disclosure of login details, passwords, PINs, or other sensitive information.
“If the bank gets caught in the scammers’ trap and transfers money, the bank does not compensate the losses incurred. Such events are not considered insurance events according to the terms and conditions of deposit insurance,” said Gediminas Milieška, Manager of Investments and Savings of SEB Baltic, to the news portal tv3.lt.
He lost more than 400 thousand this year. euros
Valerija Kiguolienė, communication director of the Lithuanian Banking Association, confirms that electronic scammers have become more active recently. However, it is too early to say exactly how much the thieves made in the first days of July.
“We collect data on a quarterly basis, so we do not yet have the information for July. We will have the data for the second quarter of this year at the end of July,” explains V. Kiguolienė.
The Bank of Lithuania is also responding to the escalation of fraudsters. The report, distributed by the institution, encourages residents to be extremely critical of unexpected calls related to their accounts, not to reveal personal emails. bank details in the hands of scammers and do not make any transfers at the request of scammers.
“The Bank of Lithuania is aware of the risk that scammers will try to evict the public by email. You have warned bank details more than once, but we see the need to remind you again, as we are witnessing a sharp increase in these cases in recent times. Never give your username to bank codes, even if the caller presents himself as a bank employee, and warn his relatives about it, ”says Jekaterina Govina, Director of the Financial Market Supervision Service of the Bank of Lithuania .
According to the institution’s report, the population is losing money and attracted by the fraudulent opportunity offered by scammers to invest only in 2021. In the first half of the year, the Bank of Lithuania received complaints from 28 people who had suffered investment fraud , according to which the population lost 454 thousand. euros. The largest amounts lost per capita: 125,115,000. or 112 thousand. euros.
It’s important to remember
The Bank of Lithuania reminds that payment service providers never ask for personal login details, so residents should simply ignore calls, SMS messages or emails. Emails requesting urgent action, such as downloading a report or clicking a link you send.
Residents are only required to conduct all financial transactions through secure channels listed on payment service providers’ websites – online banking or a mobile app.
“It must be taken into account that the purpose of the scammers is to convince them that the message sent comes from a source known and trusted by the resident. When you can do this, you are generally asked to take certain actions that can lead to loss of money, personal data, or a computer infection.
Therefore, do not do anything with your money that you are not sure of, that is, do not do any action that you have not initiated ”, explains J. Govina.
It is added that the Bank of Lithuania takes all measures to block websites that participate in fraud schemes and to ensure that information about the organizers reaches law enforcement agencies.
2021 I pusm. 4 websites and 1 website related to the provision of payment services were blocked due to investment fraud, as well as 14 websites were added to the list of illegal websites, the information was sent to the Attorney General of the Republic of Lithuania based on 4 complaints regarding 3 websites. However, residents should be aware that payment service providers who have received a complaint are not required to reimburse the payer for the amount of the transaction if it was due to fraud, intent, or gross negligence on the part of the payer.
As a precautionary measure, residents who wish to limit their ability to transfer large sums of money to scammers can set lower-than-normal daily transfer limits in advance.
[ad_2]
