Information security expert Batrankov lists ways to protect yourself against scammers
Photo: Shutterstock
Scammers are on the loose lately. According to the Central Bank, in the first quarter of 2023, fraudsters stole 4.5 billion rubles from Russian accounts and cards. This is almost a third (!) more than in the same period last year.
Of course, bankers and law enforcement officers block the numbers from which fraudulent calls come. From January to March, 97,000 numbers were blocked. 8.3 thousand phishing sites (created to steal data) were also closed. But cybercriminals are becoming more active and, as the dismal numbers confirm, more effective.
But why now they began to attack us with such violence?
– In an unstable situation, people are ready to blindly believe all kinds of criminals: psychics, astrologers, phone scammers, – Denis Batrankov, an information security expert, will explain. – For example, a person is too worried about the events happening in the country. And then he received a call: “Please confirm the change of your phone number on the State Services website.” Again anxiety. What change? I didn’t change anything. And if a person answers, the contact is practically established. Then you will be scammed into dictating personal data and SMS with a code to transfer money to scammers.
And what to do? The most important (and most banal) advice was formulated a long time ago: if strangers call you and ask for something, just hang up. But if you still started the conversation, here are some information security tips from Denis Batrankov:
– If the caller says they are from the bank, the police, any other government agency, ask for their full name and contact phone number.
– Hang up the phone. Then find the number of the named organization on the Internet, call and check if they really contacted you.
– If it turned out that scammers called you, add the number to the black list of the phone.
– It is also worth installing a program that filters and blocks unwanted calls, spam and advertising. Such services are now provided by both mobile operators and various companies: Yandex, Kaspersky, Tinkoff, Sberbank, etc.
Three new tricks from phone scammers
The QR code “decorated” the door, but do not believe it
Scammers began often placing QR codes in ads. Supposedly, they are offering him some kind of service: replacing an intercom, processing social benefits, etc. And to receive it, you need to scan the code.
This code leads to a phishing site. A tip: if you have questions about the QR code, do not scan it. But even if you opened the site, nothing bad will happen. Just close it and don’t enter the card details. Otherwise, there is a risk of running out of money.
cheating on your wallet
Rogues call a potential victim, posing as police officers or the FSB. And they report: a certain bank employee is trying to transfer money from his account at the moment to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And you are responsible for this, moreover, under the article “Treason to the Fatherland” – up to 20 years in prison.
The victim is half scared to death, and the scammers use their standard trick: to save the money, they need to be transferred to a “secure account” (i.e. scammers).
I’m going to complain to your mother
Everything starts normally. The victim receives a call from a “bank security officer” who intimidates her: she wants to steal money from her account, and now I will tell her how to save it. Later in the show, the usual story that the funds need to be transferred to a “secure account”.
“We swim, we know,” smiles the vigilant citizen and hangs up. And the thief immediately calls the relatives of the potential victim: children, spouses or parents. And he presses: they say, his irresponsible relative of him took me for a swindler and refused to save money from him! Have a conversation with him, otherwise his savings will surely be stolen. And the unfortunate man is already being prosecuted by the crowd: not only robbers, but also his own relatives.
