Financial fraud in 2024

Tomcat

Professional
Messages
2,686
Reputation
10
Reaction score
730
Points
113
Content:
  1. Latest statistics
    1. Who becomes the victims?
  2. Types of fraudulent activities
    1. Deception depending on the scope of financial fraud
    2. Fraudulent methods of offline and online deception
    3. Other existing fraudulent schemes
  3. Protection measures against financial fraudsters
  4. You gave secret information to scammers: what to do?

Financial fraud is one of the most popular and, unfortunately, effective options for defrauding individuals and legal entities. Acting according to proven schemes, scammers mislead gullible citizens and easily take possession of other people’s property and money. We give examples of fraud, ways to minimize risk and get out of unpleasant situations.

LATEST STATISTICS​

Unfortunately, the statistics look depressing. According to research, the volume of thefts is increasing every year. Here are the data from Sberbank of Russia PJSC over the past few years:
  • 2022 - 14.2 billion rubles. stolen funds;
  • 2023 - 19 billion rubles.
As you can see, the difference is 4.8 billion rubles!

In the first quarter of this year alone, scammers were able to deceive more than 8.7 thousand people, receiving over 650 million rubles.

The largest percentage (namely - 85%) of fraudulent schemes is accounted for by telephone fraud. Data for several months of 2024 looks like this:
  • over 600 million rubles. - this is exactly the amount that was received by fake police officers and pseudo bank employees who contacted citizens by phone;
  • at least 8 million - this is how many calls financial criminals make in just 1 day.

Below we look at the dynamics of the growth in the number of people affected by financial fraud:
YearPercentage of officially registered victims who came into contact with attackers
20150
20182
20205
20239
202472

WHO BECOMES THE VICTIMS?​

Probably every modern person over 18 years of age (who uses a mobile phone, email, owns a bank card, or simply has access to the Internet) has encountered an attempt at financial fraud at least once in their life. However, the scammers didn’t stop there! At the moment they have reached teenagers and even children 7-10 years old.

But let’s still look at the official statistics on financial fraud by age group:
  • 20-40 years - 8%;
  • 40-60 years old - 13%;
  • 60-90 years old - 79%.
As you can see, older people suffer more often than others.

TYPES OF FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES​

To protect you from being lured out by criminals, we present well-known forms of influence.

DECEPTION DEPENDING ON THE SCOPE OF FINANCIAL FRAUD​

There are 4 large groups:
  • telephone fraud;
  • Internet fraud;
  • fraudulent activities in banks;
  • cheating with banknotes.
Telephone criminals operate according to two popular scenarios. Firstly, they ensure that the owner of the funds independently transfers the money to their card or special account. To do this, they pretend to be relatives of potential victims, talking about fatal accidents, life-threatening situations and other situations. Secondly, scammers can remove a personal account without the owner’s knowledge.

If we consider Internet fraud, the following forms of deception can be cited:
  • letters received by email. For example, they may talk about the recent death of a “relative” and the need to pay a commission, legal services to obtain a country house or apartment;
  • mail “worms” or spam mailings with the aim of stealing bank card data and confidential personal information. This technology is called “phishing”;
  • using online wallets to receive payment for non-existent goods. Most often, the alleged seller disappears after receiving an advance payment. Buyer,
  • Accordingly, you are left without purchasing and without spending money.
Among the most popular types of fraud in banks, there are three. Firstly, these are fraudulent activities related to lending: secret processing of loans, an error in the crediting of amounts, etc. Secondly, fraud with deposit accounts (for example, unauthorized write-off or withdrawal of accounts).

Fraudulent actions related to cash settlement services should be included in a separate subgroup of banking frauds. Examples can be very different:
  • writing off additional commissions;
  • stealing banknotes from a stack that has already been counted;
  • replacing received banknotes with counterfeit ones, etc.
As for fraud with cash, such deception can lie in wait at every turn: in stores, ATMs, exchange offices. For example, attackers can quietly remove bills from an already counted stack, plant paper, obtain personal data using a sensor, etc.

FRAUDULENT METHODS OF OFFLINE AND ONLINE DECEPTION​

If financial fraud does not occur on the Internet, this form is called offline fraud. If cybercriminals want to interact with you, we are talking about online deception. Let's look at each type in more detail.

TYPES OF ONLINE DECEPTION​

The most common type of Internet fraud is phishing, which we have already discussed above. The purpose of this method is to gain access to personal accounts and accounts. According to Google, every year at least 12 million people become victims of this type of misappropriation of other people’s personal accounts!

There are several types of phishing:
  • online. In this case, scammers steal personal information using copies of online banking pages used by victims. Everything is simple here. A person visits such a fake page without noticing the catch. Enters the username and password, which immediately become known to the criminals. Having received secret data, fraudsters reset the individual’s account;
  • mail. By opening an email, potential victims may receive letters containing fraudulent programs, viruses, or links to “dangerous” pages;
  • combined. Victims receive letters informing them of the need to transfer funds to a special account. If the owner performs the specified operation, he will no longer see the money;
  • Vishing. Fraudsters make phone calls trying to find out the personal information of individuals. Having received phone numbers, full names or secret codes, cybercriminals immediately do what they have planned - transfer other people’s funds;
  • smishing. Do not rush to rejoice when you receive a message about a sudden win or an expensive gift. Most likely, they want to lure you to a specially created page where you will be required to enter personal data. In addition, the “winner” may be asked to send an SMS or call a specified number;
  • pharming. A very dangerous type of fraud with the aim of installing malicious code on the owner’s server or personal computer. By opening the email, the user, without knowing it, will consent to the substitution of IP addresses and redirection to fake sites.

OFFLINE CHEATING OPTIONS​

Data theft from bank card owners can be accomplished in various ways: from advanced to the most primitive. First of all, the attacker simply stands behind the person who is withdrawing cash and tries to see and remember the entered code. This method is called “shoulder surfing”.

In addition, criminals can facilitate the “swallowing” of a bank card by an ATM. They do this with the help of sticky improvised means: electrical tape or adhesive tape. As a result, the card enters the card reader, but cannot come out of it, as it sticks at the exit. After approximately 40 seconds, the timeout will automatically expire. And the ATM does not return the card.

Fraudsters can find out secret codes to access the card in the following ways:
  • using a skimmer. A device attached to the card reader reads the magnetic tape. In this case, information can be immediately transmitted to scammers or accumulated for some time. Having received the treasured data, criminals make a duplicate of a bank card and calmly use it when paying for purchases on the Internet or where identity verification is not required;
  • hidden video camera. The device is directed to the keyboard. Captures codes entered by cardholders;
  • overhead keyboards that remember the numbers typed.

OTHER EXISTING FRAUDULENT SCHEMES​

A fairly common and incredibly banal situation is the receipt of a message supposedly on behalf of the bank about the transfer of a certain amount of money. Next, the potential victim receives a call from the pseudo-sender, who talks about his mistake and tearfully asks to return the d/s back. Naturally, those who believe the scammers and do not check their balance will fall into the trap.

One of the most ancient methods is financial pyramids. The point is simple - scammers attract people by encouraging them to buy goods and promising “mountains of gold” in the future. The client makes a purchase, automatically becoming part of the pyramid, and begins to look for new buyers who should also buy the product. The lower links of the chain receive a constant income. The pyramid is acquiring more and more new clients. The end of the story occurs when people stop buying the product.

The next option for stealing money is using generated QR codes. They are formed in the mobile bank by the cardholders themselves. Having received such a code from the user, supposedly to cancel a suspicious debit, scammers easily reset the bank accounts of the owners and disappear forever.

Of course, these are not all existing financial fraud schemes. Every day, criminals invent even more ingenious ways to obtain other people's property and money. We'll talk about how to protect yourself from intruders below.

PROTECTION MEASURES AGAINST FINANCIAL FRAUDSTERS​

Follow these simple tips:
  • Do not provide confidential information to anyone over the phone (codes, account numbers, full name, etc.). Real bank employees already know all the important information (except for PIN codes), which means that only scammers can ask them;
  • Use ATMs installed in bank offices. Street terminals or devices in shopping centers are checked less frequently and are more likely to be “upgraded” by criminals;
  • Close the keyboard when entering the code. Thus, none of the strangers will definitely see it. Also, he will not be caught on a hidden camera;
  • Don't take my word for it. Learn about real transactions carried out with a card, mobile banking or from real bank employees. Be sure to call your relatives back to find out if they are really in trouble and need to transfer a large amount of money;
  • Try not to answer calls from unknown numbers. You can also check them in Internet search engines. Scammers' phones are likely to have a lot of negative reviews;
  • Do not click on links provided in emails from unknown senders;
  • Provide your personal computer with anti-virus software;
  • Remember - free cheese only comes in a mousetrap. Therefore, messages about a big win and easy money should immediately signal danger;
  • Create simple passwords and try to change them periodically.

YOU GAVE SECRET INFORMATION TO SCAMMERS: WHAT TO DO?​

Sometimes criminals act so self-confidently that even the most experienced and distrustful users fall into their web. Let's imagine that you gave confidential information about your bank card to attackers.

Proceed as follows:
  1. Block the card. To do this, you need to immediately call the hotline or block it yourself using the mobile application.
  2. Contact your bank to request a refund. You can make it in time, because some credit institutions have a three-day deadline for transferring cash.

If the money has already been transferred, the bank is not obliged to compensate its clients. In this situation, you will need to contact law enforcement officials by filing a statement. Having changed the password for logging into the mobile bank, all that remains is to reissue the bank card.

(c) https://partner24.ru/finansovoe-moshennichestvo-v-2023-2024-gg/
 
Top