Hello.
Life without scammers would be boring, the number of calls from these people in 2023 has dropped dramatically, but sometimes they break through and my knowledge is enriched with new fraud schemes. Of course, the schemes are new to me, someone has already encountered them, and someone even knows that they have existed for centuries. However, I have a few stories, each of which deserves attention, we have not described them before.
Security Service – Do you have an Android or an iPhone?
A call from a landline, a man chatters to prevent me from realizing that he has a Ukrainian accent: “Hello, Eldar Viktorovich. I’m from the security service of Raiffeisenbank, we just recorded an attempt to enter your Internet bank. I understand that you may not believe that I am from the bank, for this I will now send you a secret code to your phone, do not tell me any numbers. The code from the bank comes to the phone.
The conversation went something like this:
Are you ready to speak now?
Let’s try, what’s your name?
– Sergey. Do you remember which phone you used to access the online bank, is it Android or iPhone?
– Both of them.
– And exactly what device did you enter from last time?
Let’s say with Android.
– It is necessary to answer exactly, “let’s say” is impossible.
– Okay, let’s Android.
No, answer me exactly.
— Okay, I logged in with an iPhone 14 Pro Max.
– Are you sure?
– Sure.
Can you just answer yes?
What does it mean to say “yes”?
– Say yes.
– For what?
– Well, you entered from the iPhone, so say yes.
– For what?
I need to hear yes.
– For what?
“Otherwise, I won’t be able to help you protect your money, they are already trying to withdraw it from the account.
– Can you tell me the balance of the account?
No, this is classified information. I don’t see any balances on your accounts.
– Okay, then please tell me since what year I have been a client of the bank and whether I am one.
– Say yes.
– I will not say.
Then the man, who introduced himself as Sergey, hangs up. I don’t see the point in citing the whole conversation, but let’s analyze the key points. First, the call came from a city number, it is not defined as belonging to Raiffeisenbank. The caller introduced himself as a security officer, but did not give his name. When asked about this, he gave only his first name, but not his last name. In any organization, both the surname and the name are given (the support service is an exception), that is, there is already a reason for distrust.
It is important for a fraudster to ingratiate himself, to prove that he is who he claims to be. And for this you need an SMS message. It really came from a bank, and it can come even if a person is not a client of a particular bank. Usually, an application for a particular product is made on the bank’s website, and then the system sends an SMS to confirm your desire to connect it. For example, you can reserve a business account, for this you just need to indicate your phone number, full name, and TIN (the latter can be any for some banks). And then an SMS will come, which says about the creation of a “reserve account”. Fraudsters study all the possibilities of banks, the services that are offered, and build their stories around this.
The main thing to remember and know is that banks never confirm the fact of a call with an SMS message, this is the lot of scammers. Banks may ask for a code from an SMS if you yourself called and forgot your password. But that’s a completely different story.
On the wire of the FSB, you are a threat to national security
Fraudsters build their stories into the current news agenda, so it’s easier to reach out to a person and scare him. And the next type of scam has become popular in the last few months. So call:
– Hello, FSB Major Andrey Zvyagintsev, such and such department for the city of Moscow. Eldar Viktorovich?
– Good afternoon, I’m listening to you.
– We recorded transfers from your account, they were sent to the support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, I must notify you that this is a criminal offense and a punishment of up to twenty years in prison. You need to come to testify. Ready to write down the address?
– Yes, I’m ready.
— Dictuyu, street Bolshaya Lubyanka, 2, entrance 2, room 202, Andrey Zvyagintsev. Recorded?
— Yes.
– Repeat, please.
(I repeat the address and surname).
– Well, Eldar Viktorovich, it is advisable to prepare for our meeting, take screenshots of your transfers, they can be done in a banking application or, better, in an online bank on a computer. We see two transfers in the last few days, for which detailed explanations will need to be given.
I didn’t have translations.
– Are you sure about this?
— Yes, one hundred percent.
– What luck, it means that scammers are using your account, they bypassed the bank’s protection system. We can catch them red-handed if you help us, but we need to move quickly.
– What do we have to do?
– I am not engaged in operational work, I will hand you over to my colleagues, they work with the Central Bank and will be able to catch scammers red-handed, they will call you now. Thank you for your cooperation. Then I cancel our meeting, we work with the task force to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Goodbye.
Approximately ten minutes pass, and a call is heard, it is also from a landline number. Here is our conversation:
– Eldar Viktorovich, FSB captain Anatoly Smirnov is bothering you, Andrey Sergeevich Zvyagintsev gave me your problem. Are you ready to cooperate in order to catch the scammers who send money to the APU on your behalf (everything is said very quickly on one breath)?
Hello, ready.
“Then we need to catch these people red-handed. To do this, we need to transfer money to their account, we are in full control of the situation, the transfer will not take place, we will interrupt it, your money is safe. If you are ready, then we can start.
– Ready.
– You will now receive an SMS, you need to dictate the numbers from it.
– Yes, an SMS message has arrived, write it down (I’m not dictating the numbers that are in the message).
– Strange, Eldar Viktorovich, did you really get these numbers?
– Yes, exactly.
– Let’s try again, now you will receive another SMS message.
– (I dictate numbers, again incorrect).
Are you sure you are dictating the correct numbers?
– Yes.
Instead of trying to get the cherished numbers from the SMS again, a stream of obscenities pours on me, the person does not hold back and shows himself in all his glory. These scammers wasted time while I dealt with them in an innocent divorce in the opposite direction. Hardened by “winnings” on “Auto Radio”, when it was necessary to dictate a code for phone recharge cards, I can always go forward and dictate rubbish.
Please note that these scammers are playing a multi-person scheme to add weight to the scam. But that doesn’t stop her from being a scam. Please do not trust anyone who calls you, no matter who they claim to be. Call back the numbers that are written on your cards or found by you on the bank’s website. And remember that anyone who encourages you to save or protect something usually does so with malicious intent.
