Joan called me some time ago Your bank branch’s phone numberA man was talking on the other end of the phone. he introduced himself as a bank employeeshe called him to tell him someone was trying to get 400 euros from his bank account and, to confirm this, he indicated The exact 20 digits of your account number.
there was no doubt: They called him from there the number i setThey knew all their information and moreover, they knew completely Your bank account. After giving her this information, Joan thought it was her bank, they invited her to do A trial to prevent a repeat of the alleged robbery attempt.
During the same call he told them I had to check now that your service ‘quick money’ It worked because it showed that loot After this service the crime was committed.
‘Instant Money’: This is how the scam works
This new feature –‘Instant Money’- Allows any bank customer Authorize someone else to withdraw money Instantly from ATM. The person who has the account must do this Order a withdrawal from your bank application and write the telephone number of the person who will pick up, putting your digital signature To verify identity. Once done, the authorized person you will receive a code From which money has to be withdrawn.
Then Joan became suspicious: she had never heard of ‘instant money’ before. I did not activate itBut followed the instructions. The supposed man from the bank told him that, to test, they would try to make a simple operation Through this service.
For “greater security”, he had to Send money to yourself: he ordered the withdrawal of money on your same phone numberThere was no further scope for testing: without that code – which only Joan was supposed to receive – no one would be able to get the money. But, the call urged him to say Code received in SMS to “check” Which was correct with “data sent by bank”.
A very recurring and dangerous scam
That time, Doubt Joan prevented him from disclosing the code he received by SMS, and waitThis way he stopped scammers who might have been next to the ATM Waiting for Joan to give them the number she received by SMSThey will rob you. The next day, Joan went to her bank office, where They confirmed it is a scam Very Recurring and dangerous.
Mossos de EscuadraIn fact, they’ve just issued an alert in which they warn about this method: “With ‘vishing,’ the scammer tries to get your personal data through a phone call impersonating your bank. ,” they warn via their
‘Spoofing’ or ‘vishing’: impersonating a bank’s identity
to impersonate, In this case of a banking entity, defrauding and stealing from victims is a form of scam called ,spoofingBanking. It is also known as ‘Desire’Which the National Cyber Security Institute (INSIBE) defines as a technique in which, “I impersonate the identity of a company, organization or trusted person, in order to obtain personal and sensitive information from the victim, through a single call.” goes”.
In fact, Incibe has alerted on its website That “Telephone Spoofing Detection It may be difficult, Since cyber criminals use Increasingly sophisticated technologies.
An example of this is They can call from your bank phone numberThis can be done in two ways:
The first includes Use a VoIP Service (Voice over Internet Protocol, for its acronym in English) that allows you to contact the recipient as if it is a telephone network call when in fact it is An Internet communication.
another way is call from another numberBut Changing the number that appears on the screen for a recipientSomething that VoIP providers can do themselves, since they usually do not check whether the customer is the owner of the number they requested.
How do they know your data?
The technique these cyber criminals use to make you trust them is Give you data that obviously no one can know Without you knowing. they know you Name, Surname, ID, Telephone Number (they call you directly) and, in Joan’s case, you also Bank account.
This information is usually obtained from massive data breach who steal from big companies, but they can also buy from the black marketFor example, in 2018, the company Facebook (now Meta) recognized him they were 30 million user data leaked due to pirate attackThis was a well-known case due to the size of the company, but it happens at many other companies.
It may also be that the data you gave them yourself As victim of fraud ‘Phishing’, another type of scam that usually leads you to a link Where they ask for your information. If they don’t steal your money You may not feel guiltybut they probably robbed you Data to use in another big scam.
Some Tips and Recommendations
He Incibecollects on its web portal Some Tips and Recommendations What should we keep in mind to avoid these scams:
- If the person asks for personal data or confidential information over the phone You should be suspicious: banks or other companies They will never ask you for bank details or passwords by phone. In fact, on the websites of some institutions, such as santander bankhave already warned that they will never ask their customers to provide electronic banking credentials or any other sensitive information through any medium like SMS, phone call or email.
- Urgent Tone: They will always demand urgency with a sense of authority and demand to act quickly so that they do not have time to think about what we are doing. If you notice this on a call, be suspicious.
- If you dial the number you cannot call back: If the call is disconnected and the same person is not connected when you try to call that number back, then it is a scam. You will probably contact your actual bank and they will inform you that this identification does not exist.
