Pseudo-bankers defrauded five Ukrainians of a quarter of a million hryvnias

Under the guise of system failures, blocking of bank accounts, increasing the credit limit, or attempts to pay with a card, criminals call people, posing as bank employees, in order to extort personal data. Five residents of the region were caught in such a scam, losing 240,000 hryvnias.

Law enforcement officers established that the fraudsters convinced the victims to act on their instructions, claiming that this was necessary to protect their accounts. The victims followed all instructions: they provided their card details, confirmed bank transactions via mobile applications, and also dictated the codes received in SMS messages.

Police officers are urging card account holders to be cautious when talking to strangers over the phone. Never give out personal information or confidential bank card details to third parties. Do not transfer funds to other accounts at the request of «bank» employees. Do not disclose the codes that come to your mobile number, and do not enter unknown combinations of numbers on your phone. Tell your relatives and friends about this scam, especially the elderly.

If you have been a victim of scammers, call the hotline 102. For prompt assistance from the Cyber ​​Police Department of the National Police of Ukraine, call 0 (800)50-51-70.