Watch out for fraudsters! Bank card theft is becoming increasingly prevalent
Despite banks' safety features, bank card fraud is becoming increasingly frequent. Law enforcement officers work hard to identify and catch these criminals. Bank representatives urge people to stay alert and up-to-date, as fraudsters keep up with the latest technology.
Lilia Miron is one of the many victims of scammers. A few days ago, the woman placed an ad on the Internet about the sale of a mobile phone. The scammer contacted her saying she was from another town and would send her a link where the bank details could be entered to receive the money.
"I received the link, entered the card data, after which I noticed that the money did not come, but left. That was a very slick scam because it was pretty convincing. About two thousand lei disappeared before I managed to block it", said Lilia Miron.
Although certain citizens say that they have not been contacted by scammers, they know what they should do and how to act.
"No bank representative will call on Viber, WhatsApp. There are questions that are not answered and there is information that is not divulged under any circumstances.";
"A colleague wanted to sell something, I don't remember exactly what. The scammers asked for the bank card details and in the end she lost a thousand lei."
"No one contacted me, but I don't have large amounts of money on my card. When the money comes to the card I take them all out and keep them in my pocket."
According to the banks' representatives, the most common is the psychological attack: the fraudsters, through various questions and statements, convince the victim to give them their bank details. At the same time, the most vulnerable are the elderly.
"No specialist will ever ask for such data, especially through social networks. The banking specialist will call the cardholder only to confirm one transaction or another, only to confirm an amount or a payment destination. Fraudsters can sometimes also use the bank number, so they can carry out a scheme in which they issue the bank number", says the head of the cards department, Natalia Filimon.
The phenomenon of bank card fraud has been going on for some time, according to the police. Law enforcement officials say they take steps every day to identify and apprehend fraudsters.
"From the beginning of the year until now, about 20 cases of such scams where citizens easily fall into the swindlers' net have already been registered. During the past year, even criminal groups were detained. According to the Criminal Code, they risk up to eight years in prison", says the press officer of the Chisinau Police, Natalia Stati.
Last year, according to the Chisinau Police Department, 182 cases of bank card fraud were registered in the capital.
