Scammers have started using a new scheme in the Telegram messenger, VTB reported. Attackers gain access to users’ accounts and ask their friends to transfer money to their bank account. To do this, they use fake card designs from major banks.
The scheme is implemented in two stages. First, a person receives a message from one of his contacts, in which he is invited to vote for a relative or acquaintance in the contest, buy products at a discount, etc. If the user follows the sent link, they are asked to provide a phone number and confirm with an SMS code. Actually, the user goes to a phishing site and enters a password, thanks to which the attackers gain access to his account in the messenger.
After that, from the hacked account, scammers make a mailing list where they complain about force majeure and ask to transfer money to the card number. But the image of such cards is false. The card number is usually real, but it is linked to another bank, not so big and well-known.
Thus, the attackers have more time to withdraw the stolen money. The client first contacts the bank, to the card from which, according to him, the transfer was made. Although it turns out that no funds have been received, the scammers manage to collect the stolen money.
According to Nikita Chugunov, Senior Vice President and Head of VTB’s Digital Business Department, the trend of using a bot to fake card images has started to gain momentum. Previously, these were isolated cases, today, thanks to the automation of forgery, the scheme is being used more and more.
Author:
Natalia Gormaleva
Source: RB
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