How to tell you’re communicating with scammers
When talking with an unfamiliar person, the following can be considered red flags:
- they introduce themselves as an employee of a bank, a law enforcement agency, the tax service, customs, the prosecutor’s office, and so on;
- they introduce themselves as a top manager of your company while contacting through unusual or unapproved communication channels;
- they threaten you with court or criminal liability, or intimidate in some other way;
- they ask you to do something illegal, or something that puts your safety or finances at risk, or something that will reveal confidential corporate information;
- they know and use in the conversation your personal information: name, phone number, residential address, place of work, names of your banks;
- they insist on urgency – forcing you to make a decision or perform some action without giving you time to think;
- while they’re talking, you can hear background sounds with repeating words, phrases or signals;
- they ask you to keep the conversation secret from colleagues and/or relatives;
- they ask for:
- bank card details;
- bank account numbers;
- passwords for email, online banking, or other important services;
- PIN codes from texts or push notifications;
- code words.
What to do if you realize you’re communicating with a fraudster?
If you suspect that you are communicating with a con-artist, end the conversation immediately! In addition:
- if someone introduced themselves as an employee of a bank or other company, call that bank/company on the official phone number and verify the information;
- if the person introduces themselves as a senior manager of your company, check the information through regular corporate communication channels, or notify the security department about the situation;
- If you have doubts about the identity of the person you have communicated with or about the decisions you made during the conversation, call your relatives, friends or colleagues to discuss the incident with them;
- we advise you change your passwords for the affected services just in case.
And once again, under no circumstances should you disclose by phone or in messengers:
- bank card details;
- bank account numbers;
- passwords for email, online banks, or other important services;
- PIN codes from texts or push notifications;
- code words.
Possible consequences of fraudsters’ actions
The ultimate goals of fraudsters can differ. Depending on the specific scheme, attackers can:
- gain possession of credentials for some critical services (governmental or municipal, for example) and, as a result, steal confidential information stored in their databases;
- gain access to your online banking, and be able to transfer or withdraw money;
- perform any actions allowed by online services on your behalf (take out a loan from a bank, conduct a real estate transaction, etc.);
- manipulate you to disclose confidential corporate information;
- convince you to give or transfer funds to third parties;
- force you to perform illegal actions.
Be both careful and cautious!…