Phone Fraud Attacks: What Are They and How to Protect Yourself?

The devastated calls from the Mozambican and Congo numbers on the tsunami in Lithuania reminded once again that fraudsters are using every possible means to trust people, companies and operators of communications. There are dozens of these methods, many of them coming in contact with the Lithuanians. So how do you identify the fraudsters and not direct them?

"The damage caused by telephone fraud every year around the world is estimated at tens of billions of euros, while the lighters of exotic country phone numbers are just one of the ways in which they are used. people's habits: call back when you find a missed call, contact a number in the SMS, help in the event of a missed visit from a friend or close friend, confirm the winning prize by SMS with a special code and the like. on hardware are sometimes also exploited.It is important that people are able to distinguish between mice and cereals and not resist pressure or temptation, "says Darius Meizeraitis, Telia's international business manager.

Last weekend's attack reminded people they did not have to answer all missed calls, because we ignored the e-mail sent by the princes. Letters of millions of legacy value. And most important, be alert, as scammers constantly check people's trustworthiness. So what kind of methods of telephone fraud are popular in Lithuania and the world?

Use human ingenuity

Most of the time, Lithuanians face telephone fraudsters pretending to be losing money, Internet banking, bank cards and personal data for government officials, banks, businessmen or even relatives. More rare, but common cases – when people are trying to impose certain goods or services. In both cases, fraud signals are issued in a hurry. For people, it's important to remember that you can call official branch offices or state companies, and if you are talking about a friend or relative, contact them directly.

People should be aware not only of responding to calls, but also of sending SMS messages, because in some cases they can cost more than they seem. In Lithuania, there have already been cases where a person sent SMS messages with a reduced rate number became subscriber to the services, and every week of his account were charged some euros of fees.

"People can be called to send such messages to themselves, for example by offering a lottery and winning a luxury smartphone.There is also a case where such messages were automatically generated by the phone when someone clicked on an online ad – the "Send" button was required.We block such services and false lotteries for our customers, but new cases can be repeated at any time, so we always ask our customers to inform our experts about them, "recalls D. Meizeraitis.

Scammers can send SMS messages on their own. A popular fraud abroad occurs when people send SMS messages on behalf of the banks, informing them about any changes or obligations of the people, and asks for more information to call the indicated phone. After picking it up, the scammer is hit at the other end of the machine, attempting to withdraw personal bank cards or bank details online.

Scammers can also send an SMS or a call if you have posted an advertisement on the Internet to sell or buy something. The purpose of this deception is to get the product of a person without regard or give money without having to send the promised purchase. In such cases, it is easier to protect yourself from fraud by simply finding the buyer or seller directly.

You can not protect yourself from all attacks

Calling or sending SMS messages with premium rates can also be triggered automatically by malicious gadgets. These processes occur in the background and people can not see or stop it. Gadgets that perform these actions are removed from trusted gadget stores such as the Apple App Store or Google Play, but people should pay attention to the permissions that the application installs. For example, if the calculator requests access to SMS and call management, look for another. In addition, there is a greater risk for those installing gadgets from untrusted sources. However, this type of fraud is being monitored globally, and harmful numbers are identified on the blacklists blocked by international organizations.

People also face telephone fraud while traveling. If your phone connects to an untrusted telephone network, that part of your call may not be directed to where it should be. For example, when you go to a country in Africa to call the owners, the device is picked up, but at the other end you hear "non-Lithuanian" and exotic local music. You can already connect to the subscriber a second time by dialing the money, but the first call money is charged and the local or intermediary operator goes into the pocket.

"This is the so-called" False Responses Supervision "attack, and people can not protect themselves in any way as long as they are executed by operators in those countries.These cases are extremely rare and can occur only in exotic countries. is not entirely relevant, since all our operators have agreed to low roaming tariffs in our continent, as well as large and well-known companies operating in many countries. In other countries, the better the partner the operator, the lower the probability of that its clients face such problems ", – says D. Meizeraitis.

Telephone fraudsters can try to profit not just from people but also from communication providers. For example, business customers have telephone stations known as Private Branch Exchange (PBX), which can bulk call specific countries, networks, or numbers to receive revenue from charges for calls received between carriers. If you notice these cases, inform the operator about them.

The shame of the reservation does not

"Two things are important to combat all fraudsters. First, it is the operator's experience – the more a company is aware of the various types of crime, the better the partners, the safer the customers can feel. people report suspicious activity to us, and our experts are contributing to public education: they go to school after school explaining to their children that it is necessary to set a password on the phone, it can not be left unlocked and the connection with the unknown may be insecure, "- notes D. Meizeraitis.

Summing up with tips for people, the Telia expert emphasized that the key is to stay careful and keep the phone in the same position as any other asset: use passwords, do not release strangers, do not call unknown numbers and losers – block your account and change passwords .

Due to the huge unexpected costs to mobile devices, people keep their credit limit. All new customers of Telia receive a credit limit of 100 euros, which can be increased or decreased, using the operators.