Sberbank clients were attacked by unusually informed scammers: how to protect yourself

Sberbank customers have become victims of unusually knowledgeable scammers. They know not only passport data, but also complete information about the client's recent transactions. You can get this data only with the help of an insider in the bank, experts are sure.

What's happened. Messages about a new type of fraud appeared on social networks, they were noticed and checked by Kommersant. In all the cases described, the scheme is approximately the same: a Sberbank client sees a call from the bank's official numbers - 900 or +7 (495) 500-55-50. The false employee addresses him by his first and middle name and gives his full passport details. If a person still doubts, SMS from the short number 900 comes as confirmation or information about account balances and recent transactions is reported.

Fraudsters call to warn the client about an attempted unauthorized debiting of funds from the card. One of the clients of Sberbank said that the scammers continued to call him until he himself blocked his card through an online bank.

How it works

• It is technically possible to falsify the bank's phone number for calls and SMS, Kommersant was told in the Jet Infosystems practical security analysis laboratory. There are special applications for this, one call from a changed number costs several rubles.
• Passport data can be found, for example, by the number of the car. And a lot of other information about customers can be collected in social networks, experts interviewed by the publication say. But information about accounts and balance can only be obtained through insiders in the bank itself.
• Now on the market you can buy data from customers of Sberbank, Alfa Bank, Tinkoff Bank, Post Bank, Avangard, Russian Standard and MTS Bank, DeviceLock reported. The head of the information security service of one of the banks told Kommersant that fraudsters are now using more and more targeted attacks, and attackers are collecting databases from banks and information about customers with large account balances.

Reaction. Sberbank itself said that it was carefully studying "such cases of fraudulent activities" and "constantly improving the anti-fraud system." However, with a question about the fake numbers in the bank, they advised me to contact telecom operators.

How to defend yourself. In order not to fall for the trick of scammers, you need to be careful and, if there is even the slightest doubt, call the bank yourself, experts say: scammers can fake a number when they call, but they will not be able to receive a client’s call.

Valeria Pozychanyuk