Warns of an increase in scams posing as bank employees: how to protect yourself?



[ad_1]

Telephone scammers, who call people, generally try to find out the bank’s customer details, to reveal online banking login information, Smart-ID login codes, and other confidential information you give them access to clients’ finances, according to the press release.

To avoid falling into the trap, Luminor Bank expert Linas Sadeckas shares simple tips to help identify financial scammers.

“During the COVID-19 crisis, both banks and other service providers adapted to the situation and offered customers more active use of remote services by transferring them to phones or computers. But scammers have also quickly adapted to change, increasingly looking for new ways to attract money from customers.

For example, by calling customers on behalf of a bank, they are persuaded to dictate their login details to electronic banking. Therefore, it is very important to inform customers on how to distinguish a real bank employee from a fraudster, especially when talking on the phone, when the caller does not have to prove their identity by presenting an employee card ”, emphasizes Linas Sadeckas .

The most important tips to help you identify that the caller is not a bank employee:

What a bank clerk would never ask for. The most important thing to remember is that the bank never calls the customer to retrieve the account number, the payment card details (card number or security code (CVC) on the other side of the card). Also, a bank employee wouldn’t try to figure out the card’s PIN, online banking access passwords, and the like. If you are asked to provide this information during a call, it is obvious that you are being called by a non-bank representative.

Pay attention to the phone number. Scammers can call both from numbers registered in Lithuania and abroad. However, it should be remembered that employees of a bank operating in Lithuania will never call from a phone number registered abroad, so pay attention to whether the caller’s number begins with the Lithuanian code +370.

What is the language of the caller. Recently, there have been cases where phone scammers posing as bank employees speak Russian or English. However, an employee of a bank operating in Lithuania will always contact you only in Lithuanian. Also, emails sent by scammers can often be recognized due to poor language and noticeable language errors.

Remember to inform your bank. If you suspect that you have been called by a scammer, be sure to call your bank at the official phone number listed on the bank’s website, or inform your bank in another safe way. Explaining the situation to a bank employee will allow you to know if the call you received really came from the bank or if it was an attempted fraud. You will also be informed how to proceed.

In many cases, customers do not report telephone scammers to the bank for various reasons: it is inconvenient to admit that they have become victims of fraud, it is believed that the amount lost is too small to report to the bank, or it will not be recovered.

If fraud is suspected, money has been transferred to scammers, payment card information or online banking details have been leaked, law enforcement authorities and your bank should be notified as soon as possible. Also, if you lose your card or suspect that it may have fallen into the wrong hands, you should immediately block it in online banking or contact your bank as soon as possible.



[ad_2]