Everyone at least once on a cell phone or WhatsApp was called by unknown numbers, and most often it turned out to be scammers. Today, not only calls on a regular cellular connection, but also calls to instant messengers and even in social networks have been used by intruders to deceive people.
Despite the fact that the state and telecom operators take active measures to protect citizens from such criminals, hundreds of thousands of people face calls from intruders every day.
One of the latest schemes that have appeared in Russia – scammers call, posing as employees of a mobile operator and report that the number has expired, and then ask for the code from the SMS to extend it. Text messages are sent from the Gosuslugi portal. Thus, criminals get into the victim's account, and she may not even know about it. Such schemes literally replace each other with lightning speed. The media do not even have time to inform citizens about the scheme, as a new one appears.
In this article, we will tell you how to protect yourself from calls and messages from intruders, what are the types of phone fraud and how the schemes of such criminals work.
An equally important role is played by cooperation with law enforcement agencies in identifying and suppressing the activities of fraudsters. Improving communications security is a long-term process that requires joint efforts from all parties.
Despite the fact that the topic of countering phishing and cybersecurity is actively covered by the state, a lot of people still continue to provide data to fraudsters, being led to new, more sophisticated schemes.
Phone fraud can be divided into many categories based on its methods. So, malefactors can commit a crime using a phone bot or with the participation of a live person. These can be reset calls, without talking, with the expectation that the victim will call back, or dialog calls. The crime begins when the victim discovers a fraudster (a call to a fake ad) or the fraudster finds the victim (most calls from "security services" , etc.). The crime can also be committed by one person or a group of people, each of whom performs a different role (bank employee, police officer, son, grandson, courier, etc.).
In addition, phone fraudsters can use sending images of forged IDs, bank cards, and other documents. They can be non-aggressive, or vice versa - with instant repeated calls, threats, intimidation, or strong psychological pressure.
Calls from phone scammers can be divided according to their level of knowledge about victims – zero or minimal personal information about the victim, or with a large amount of data about him. In the second case, it is easier to gain the victim's trust. Calls can also be made using a regular Russian phone number or using numbers and labels that create the illusion of a special service number.
Also, over the past year, cases of calls from abroad from unknown numbers have become more frequent. Scammers may actually be located in another country or use a strange number to confuse the victim. For example, they write or call from a German number to a messenger in Russian with an offer to hire for a good job.
Example of a fraud scheme:
Today, there are a lot of ads in Telegram channels from scammers who offer ordinary sole proprietors and LLC companies to draw up a communication contract with one of the operators of the Russian Federation for a fee and transfer their credentials for making calls. They promise to pay all the bills for making calls.
Both telecom operators and the state are interested in reducing the number of phone fraudsters. Often the negligent attitude of citizens to such incidents becomes an obstacle. For example, after receiving a whatsapp call from an unknown number that is clearly fraudulent, a person simply blocks it and forgets about what happened, instead of reporting the incident to the telecom operator.
You should always check the identity of the person or organization calling you, and also spend an extra minute and call the bank's hotline yourself.
To counteract phone fraudsters, follow these steps:
Neither the state, nor telecom operators and banks will be able to 100% protect citizens from calls from criminals, only vigilance and knowledge of basic security rules will help to avoid unpleasant incidents. Only by working together can we slow down the growth of cybercrime and protect each other.
Despite the fact that the state and telecom operators take active measures to protect citizens from such criminals, hundreds of thousands of people face calls from intruders every day.
One of the latest schemes that have appeared in Russia – scammers call, posing as employees of a mobile operator and report that the number has expired, and then ask for the code from the SMS to extend it. Text messages are sent from the Gosuslugi portal. Thus, criminals get into the victim's account, and she may not even know about it. Such schemes literally replace each other with lightning speed. The media do not even have time to inform citizens about the scheme, as a new one appears.
In this article, we will tell you how to protect yourself from calls and messages from intruders, what are the types of phone fraud and how the schemes of such criminals work.
How do they protect us from scammers calls today?
Security tools are constantly being improved, but, unfortunately, a counter-measure often appears after the incident. Here it is difficult to predict in advance and protect yourself from a type of fraud that has not yet appeared.An equally important role is played by cooperation with law enforcement agencies in identifying and suppressing the activities of fraudsters. Improving communications security is a long-term process that requires joint efforts from all parties.
Despite the fact that the topic of countering phishing and cybersecurity is actively covered by the state, a lot of people still continue to provide data to fraudsters, being led to new, more sophisticated schemes.
Types of phone fraud
In most cases, the main goal of phone fraudsters is to gain benefits by deceiving the victim and obtaining confidential information (authentication codes, access codes, and passwords) from her, which can be used both to gain access to money or accounts, and to hack the company where the victim works.Phone fraud can be divided into many categories based on its methods. So, malefactors can commit a crime using a phone bot or with the participation of a live person. These can be reset calls, without talking, with the expectation that the victim will call back, or dialog calls. The crime begins when the victim discovers a fraudster (a call to a fake ad) or the fraudster finds the victim (most calls from "security services" , etc.). The crime can also be committed by one person or a group of people, each of whom performs a different role (bank employee, police officer, son, grandson, courier, etc.).
In addition, phone fraudsters can use sending images of forged IDs, bank cards, and other documents. They can be non-aggressive, or vice versa - with instant repeated calls, threats, intimidation, or strong psychological pressure.
Calls from phone scammers can be divided according to their level of knowledge about victims – zero or minimal personal information about the victim, or with a large amount of data about him. In the second case, it is easier to gain the victim's trust. Calls can also be made using a regular Russian phone number or using numbers and labels that create the illusion of a special service number.
Also, over the past year, cases of calls from abroad from unknown numbers have become more frequent. Scammers may actually be located in another country or use a strange number to confuse the victim. For example, they write or call from a German number to a messenger in Russian with an offer to hire for a good job.
How do phone scammers work?
Representatives of IP telephony note that every day they face a huge number of phone scammers and various ways of luring money. According to them, while large transfer complexes in Moscow (Vykhino, Planernaya, etc.) and other regions distribute SIM cards of telecom operators for free every day, there is no point in talking about "clean" communication.Example of a fraud scheme:
- GoIP32 voice GSM gateway (for 32 SIM cards) on the free bulletin board costs 80,000 rubles;
- free sim cards at the metro station – 0 rubles;
- sim card rate for 3.2 rubles per minute of conversation;
- a simple home computer where you can deploy a simple free SIP server.
Today, there are a lot of ads in Telegram channels from scammers who offer ordinary sole proprietors and LLC companies to draw up a communication contract with one of the operators of the Russian Federation for a fee and transfer their credentials for making calls. They promise to pay all the bills for making calls.
Both telecom operators and the state are interested in reducing the number of phone fraudsters. Often the negligent attitude of citizens to such incidents becomes an obstacle. For example, after receiving a whatsapp call from an unknown number that is clearly fraudulent, a person simply blocks it and forgets about what happened, instead of reporting the incident to the telecom operator.
How to protect yourself from fraudulent calls
Experts believe that the most important thing is never to share personal information, such as passwords or bank details, as well as codes from SMS and apps, over the phone or in response to messages from an unknown sender.You should always check the identity of the person or organization calling you, and also spend an extra minute and call the bank's hotline yourself.
To counteract phone fraudsters, follow these steps:
- Install automatic caller ID with anti-spam on your smartphone or enable this functionality in programs (for example, Sber or VK). Caller ID allows you to identify fraudulent numbers that have been tagged by other users or are already in their respective databases. This will significantly reduce the number of "strange" calls.
- Never and under no circumstances transfer payment or other information from SMS or messages to third parties. Read carefully what is written in SMS or push notifications.
- Under no threat, do not give in to blackmail and do not commit illegal actions. If there is even the slightest suspicion that the action is illegal or in the "gray" zone, stop the dialog.
- Ideally, ignore calls, text messages, and messages in messengers from strangers.
Conclusion
As fast as information technologies are developing, new schemes of cybercrime are emerging, and one of the most rapidly developing and sophisticated types of crimes committed using high technologies is telephone fraud.Neither the state, nor telecom operators and banks will be able to 100% protect citizens from calls from criminals, only vigilance and knowledge of basic security rules will help to avoid unpleasant incidents. Only by working together can we slow down the growth of cybercrime and protect each other.
