Types of fraud and fraud with payment cards – how to recognize fraud and not become a victim

The content of the article

• Bank Card Fraud Types
• Via mobile bank
• By phone
• SMS fraud
• Card theft
• Using fake ATMs
• When making payments through the terminal
• How scammers withdraw money from a bank card
• Ways to Access Confidential Information
• A new type of bank card fraud
• Call from bank employees by service number
• Launching a virus program in ATMs and terminals
• Contactless readers with Paypass technology
• Common Fraud Schemes
• Skimming personal data from a card
• Electronic and non-electronic phishing
• Vishing
• Creating a fake online store
• Double debit
• How to protect the card from scammers
• Where to go if stolen money from the card
• Is it possible to return the money
• Legal liability for fraud

Plastic cards have become a familiar way of storing money. It would seem that finances are reliably protected, because a credit card is always at hand, and you can get cash or pay at the store only by knowing the pin code. However, not everything is so smooth. Bank card fraud is gaining momentum, as fraudsters come up with new schemes and fraud every time, the purpose of which is to withdraw money from a card account. In order not to become a victim of thieves and protect your own savings, you need to know all kinds of data theft methods and options for protecting against them.

Bank Card Fraud Types

A bank card is almost a universal tool in the financial world – salary is transferred to it, loans are issued, it is calculated at points of sale and on the Internet. If someone needed money on the other side of the earth – they can also be transferred using a card. At the same time, the number of crimes related to the theft of cash from plastic is growing. Most of them are due to carelessness and excessive trust of credit card holders. There are many ways to steal money from a card, which are worth considering in more detail..

Via mobile bank

When installing third-party applications from the Internet, for work with which you need to bind a card, you should be very careful. The fact is that the creators of the program specifically infect it with a virus that, penetrating a smartphone, starts working for scammers. He replaces the mobile banking window with phishing, that is, fake, and the owner of the phone enters his data there without suspecting anything. The virus sends them to scammers, who then illegally gain access to the client’s card account.

In addition, the program can access SMS notifications of the client when working in the program. With their help, thieves, disguised as the owner of a debit card, can enter banking and steal money. The client may not suspect anything, since viruses block messages about cash withdrawals and money transfers that should be received on the phone. Avoiding getting a trojan into your phone is simple – you only need to install licensed programs (including antivirus programs) and regularly check your account.

By phone

If a bank card was attached to the phone number, then the fraudster can take advantage of this situation. If the phone or SIM card is stolen / lost, criminals get access to Internet banking and quietly transfer all money from a credit card. In addition, attackers can hack the site of a mobile operator. After that, they set the forwarding of all user SMS messages and use them to access mobile or Internet banking.

SMS fraud

The owner of the credit card receives a message on his cell phone that the card is blocked. To unblock it, it is proposed to make a call back to the financial institution operator at the number indicated in the SMS. When making a phone call, the fraudster appears to be an employee of the credit card issuing bank and asks for secret information: a plastic number, a code word and PIN numbers supposedly necessary for unlocking. With the help of these data, it is not difficult for a scammer to use the money amounts from a card account.

Through the Internet

Buying goods online is very popular because it helps to save a lot. Fraudsters can intercept data directly during the payment process, and then use the details of a bank card to further withdraw money. This can be avoided by following simple rules:

• Do not shop for large amounts through the World Wide Web;
• use a virtual card for payment;
• set a limit on a one-time payment;
• use only verified sites to make purchases;
• activate Secure Code service.

Card theft

Credit card fraud by stealing a credit card is common. If this is found, you must urgently contact the operator and block the card or do it yourself through a mobile or Internet application. This is extremely important when plastic has only a magnetic strip. It is not possible to withdraw money without a PIN code from him, however, paying in the store will not be difficult. It is more difficult to use cards with a chip or contactless payment, because for any operations you will need to enter the secret password number.

Using fake ATMs

Attackers go to different tricks, just to seize other people’s finances. They can even make a pseudo-ATM. It is installed in a crowded place so that more people can use it. By inserting a card into the device, a person sees information about the lack of cash or a system malfunction. Meanwhile, scammers take possession of all the information they need to withdraw money. A fake ATM may return the card, or may leave it at home. In this case, it will be even easier to withdraw money, because there is an original and a PIN code is known.

When making payments through the terminal

When shopping in a store, you should carefully monitor the cashiers who take plastic in their hands for payment at the terminal. If a store employee passes a bank card twice through the terminal, then for the first time he does it to write off money, and the second – to remove information from plastic, then to withdraw money. In addition, he can remember the cvv code and data on the front side, with which it is easy to make purchases on the Internet.

How scammers withdraw money from a bank card

To withdraw money with the help of the owner of the credit card is elementary. Known methods are used for this. The first of these is bank card fraud by sticking tape to the part of the ATM where the money is being sent from. The client inserts a card, enters a PIN code, hears the counter of the ATM, but does not receive money, because the device for issuing money does not open. In the second case, the scammers make a special device from the film, which is inserted into the card reader – the ATM accepts a credit card, gives out money, but does not return the card.

Ways to Access Confidential Information

It is much easier to get the necessary information contained on plastic than bank card users think about it. Often, fraud occurs through the fault of the bank’s customers themselves due to negligence and inattention. Scammers can easily peek at a secret code from behind when calculating the owner of a bank card in a store, withdrawing cash from an ATM, etc..

In addition, there is a conspiracy of cybercriminals with sellers who can provide fraudsters with information from payment cards of buyers. Sometimes scammers negotiate with bank employees. Those tell them at what address the credit card ordered by mail will come, which the thieves intercept and withdraw cash. A common way is to infect mobile devices with trojans that steal data when paying by a bank card holder on a network.

A new type of bank card fraud

Progress does not stand still. The same can be said about scams with credit cards. Previously, credit card fraud was limited to sticking out cash withdrawals and plastic thefts, but in the modern world fraud has shifted to a new plane. Now, new contactless technologies and the Internet come to “help” the attackers, although here the lack of care is played by users.

Call from bank employees by service number

Recently, facts of fraud with bank cards of Sberbank have become known. To do this, fraudsters use the organization’s service number, because this is technologically possible. An SMS from number 900 comes to the victim’s scammer’s phone asking him to transfer a certain amount of money. To do this, you must send in response the code contained in the message, or the operation will be completed automatically after 600 seconds.

After some time, a call comes from the official number of Sberbank (8-800-555-5550), where a person, having called himself a security specialist of a banking institution, asks the client to send a reply SMS, where they indicate the code, space and the phrase “cancel transfer”. After sending a message, money, as well as an employee of Sberbank, disappear without a trace.

Launching a virus program in ATMs and terminals

This type of fraud is a novelty in the Russian financial market and it affects not the owners of salary and credit cards, but the ATMs. The essence of the fraudulent scheme is that money-dispensing devices are infected with a special Trojan virus, which gives attackers the opportunity to withdraw cash from an ATM by entering a special code on the keyboard. This phenomenon was first encountered in the spring of 2019..

Contactless readers with Paypass technology

Using a payment card with contactless payment technology PayPass allows you to pay no more than 1000 rubles without entering a PIN code. Criminals take this opportunity, because to carry out the operation you only need to attach the portable terminal to the bag or clothes where the credit card is located. To carry out such a fraud is difficult, especially in places with large crowds.

Common Fraud Schemes

Every year the number of so-called “lotions” is increasing. Criminals use technical tricks in their scams, in the form of special overlays, inserts, cameras, and intangible means. The methods of credit card fraud and the methods used can be so simple that the first time plastic owners do not even understand that they are trying to deceive them.

Skimming personal data from a card

The theft method, which is gradually fading due to the introduction of chip cards, but nevertheless has not lost its relevance. It consists in installing a special skimmer device in place of the ATM card reader, from which it is very difficult to distinguish it from the outside. The client of the bank inserts plastic, and the attackers copy all the necessary information from the magnetic strip of the card to make a duplicate. The pin code is obtained in two ways – by installing a special patch on the keyboard of the ATM or by mounting a miniature video camera.

One of the varieties of skimming is shimming. This is an improved option, because instead of a patch device, a thin card is placed in the card reader. Subsequently, it reads all the necessary information from the card. Attackers use skimming not only in ATMs, but also in shops or cafes. In this case, a portable device is used – a manual skimmer.

Subsequently, thieves issue copies of bank credit cards, where information from stolen plastic is applied. After fraudsters have faked bank cards, it will not be difficult to withdraw money from them or pay at the store, since the verification codes are known. In order not to become a victim of skimming, you need to try not to withdraw money from ATMs located in remote and poorly lit places, because such devices are easiest to equip with readers. In retail outlets, it is advisable to pay by credit card on your own, and not transfer it into the wrong hands.

Electronic and non-electronic phishing

“Fishing for bait” – so this kind of theft can be translated. Its essence lies in the fact that an e-mail is sent to the victim’s e-mail or phone number asking for credit card details. This may be an action from a payment system or a bank, but you should understand that all this is a divorce, since no banking organization will send out such offers in order to “fetch” personal data of a client.

Vishing

The type of fraud is akin to the above phishing, with the only difference being that in order to acquire the data of the owner of the plastic, a telephone connection is used, and the conversation can occur both in an automated mode – using an answering machine, or directly with the so-called operator of a banking institution. Attackers under any pretext try to find out information about a credit card, secret code and customer data.

A buyer can call if the owner of the credit card posted information on the sale of an expensive item on a popular ad site. Under the pretext that the transport company, which will pick up the goods, needs the seller’s full personal data, and he himself deletes all the necessary information from the card to transfer money, then disappears, and with it the funds from the account.

Creating a fake online store

Thieves have long gone into the virtual space, if only to seize the money of unsuspecting buyers. To do this, create online stores offering goods at bargain prices so that as many buyers as possible want to buy them. It is proposed to pay for the purchase using bank plastic. The goal of scammers is to obtain data from customer cards, including a cvv code, and then use them to independently calculate online.

Double debit

Rather, this type can be attributed not to malicious intent, but to technical errors that arose from the processing center that processes all payment transactions with bank cards, or from the issuing bank. In addition, double debiting can be attributed to the seller’s inexperience or problems with the payment terminal at the point of sale itself. It is impossible to avoid such actions, but it is easy to notice them in time – for this you need to activate the SMS informing service. If you find out what happened, you must immediately inform the bank that issued the credit card.

How to protect the card from scammers

Before you insert plastic into the ATM, you need to make sure that there are no suspicious overlays on the surface – as a rule, they differ in color and appearance. For owners of credit cards with a contactless payment method, it is recommended to set a minimum credit limit when paying without a PIN code or cancel it altogether. In addition, you can minimize risks by placing the card in a radio-shielded wallet (for this you just need to put its foil inside), a metal box or a foil bag.

Under no circumstances can you give your credit card to third parties, let alone give a PIN code, because this is secret information that is available only to the card holder, even to bank employees it is not known, because it is generated automatically. Do not pay in response to SMS messages and emails from unknown sources. In case of any suspicion or unauthorized write-off of funds from the balance, you need to call the bank and block.

Where to go if stolen money from the card

The first thing to do if the money is debited without the owner’s knowledge is to call the banking institution at the number indicated on the back of the plastic. They should inform about the disappearance of funds from the card account and follow all the instructions. After that, you need to come to the nearest police station and write a statement.

Is it possible to return the money

If the client is completely sure that he did not perform any unauthorized transactions on the card (you need to make sure that relatives are not involved in this), you need to write a statement to the bank for a refund. If the bank refuses, you can safely go to court. It is extremely difficult to return the disappeared funds, especially if a PIN code is required for transactions, but such cases are known. It is easier to return the money if a hacker attack on the bank is recorded or a large number of citizens are injured..

Legal liability for fraud

The Criminal Code (Article 159.3) recognizes credit card fraud as a crime for which the perpetrators are held accountable in accordance with the law. According to the code, fines, arrests, corrective labor or restriction of liberty are provided for the deed. Compensation, the number of hours of forced labor or the time of arrest directly depend on the amount stolen, whether the crime was committed independently or by an organized group.