The bogus bank advisor scam has become so common and profitable that it now has a name: vishing. Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, the victim assistance platform, has been contacted 1,500 times over the past 6 months. Among the victims, we find people known as Michel Drucker or Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
In the summer of 2022, Michel Drucker would have lost 10,000 euros after being scammed by a fake bank adviser. The thug, who had passed himself off as a banking agent from the BNP Paribas fraud department, had claimed to warn him of a scam to extract a tidy sum, even for the famous TV host. If Dominique Strauss-Kahn was also a victim, this misadventure also happens to anonymous individuals. Thereby, a couple of withdrawals was the victim of an identical scam for a loss of 1700 euros that the bank had refused to reimburse them.
The fraudulent practice has become so common and profitable that it now has a name: vishing. In order not to waste time, the criminals buy on the web the bank details of a well-filled account between 80 120 euros. To make their story credible, they give each other information about the pigeon – such as its bank card number – for only ten euros and copy the number from the banks via calling software. These data make it possible to ask the victim to communicate codes that he receives by SMS or to have him confirm actions on his banking application.
A warning note published by Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr
Each victim is robbed between a few thousand and tens of thousands of euros, observed in the columns of the Parisian Jean-Jacques Latour, director of cybersecurity expertise at Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, the victim assistance platform that was requests 1500 recoveries for 6 months.
A information note to warn about the phenomenon has therefore been published by its services. Here are the main tips:
- Beware of messages (email or SMS) that lead you to communicate personal and/or banking information;
- Regularly and systematically apply security updates;
- Only install applications or software from official sites or stores;
- Use an antivirus to protect yourself from viruses that could steal your passwords or your personal and banking information;
- Use different and complex passwords for each site and application you use;
- Enable two-factor authentication when available.
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Most banks repeat this message over and over: An advisor from your bank will never ask you to provide him with your password, confirmation codes or even to perform validation or cancellation actions on your application. bank for alleged fraud in progress on your accounts.
What to do in case of fraud?
If you feel like you’ve been duped, don’t panic! It is essential in such circumstances not to validate any banking transaction and to oppose your bank card without delay. The opposition telephone number of your bank appears on its website and on its ATMs. Also change the passwords to limit the access of thugs.
Finally, study your accounts to identify possible fraud and alert your bank of all malicious acts.
Bank account scam: can your bank refuse to reimburse you?
If the fraud relates to your bank card, report the facts on the Perceval platform of the Minister of the Interior then file a complaint. The latter is essential to be reimbursed for a fraud.