Telephone and Internet fraud has been flourishing in Ukraine for many years, and only the lazy person does not know about its scale. Now the Internet, being the largest means of information exchange, at the same time generates a rapid increase in crimes related to the use of information technologies. The agency "ElitExpert" tried to understand this problem with the well-known Ukrainian lawyer, manager of the "Shavrov and partners" law office, Igor Shavrov.
We often spend more time on the Internet than with our family. Now information security is as important as physical security, so today we will talk about how not to become a victim of fraudsters on the Internet.
Signs of fraud on the part of the buyer when selling on the Internet:
- The buyer is not particularly interested in the product, quickly demonstrates his desire to make a purchase and proceeds to talk about the payment method.
- The buyer asks you to provide the full details of the card, including the first and last name in Latin letters, the validity period and the CVC code. With the help of these data, he himself will be able to easily pay with your card on the Internet.
- The buyer asks you to inform him of various codes that will come to your mobile phone, allegedly necessary for him to make a payment.
Signs of fraud on the part of the seller when shopping on the Internet:
- There is no address or phone number, all communication is offered via e-mail or instant messaging programs.
- There is no real name of the seller, the person is hiding behind a "nickname".
- The seller registered on the service recently, the sale announcement is his only message.
- The ad is published with errors, carelessly compiled, without punctuation marks, capital letters, etc.
- There is no photo of the product, or an attached picture from the Internet (this can be determined using duplicate image search services).
- The price of the product is too low in comparison with analogues from other sellers.
- The seller requires a full or partial prepayment (for example, as a guarantee that you will receive the goods in the mail with payment by cash on delivery).
- The seller accepts payment only for anonymous details: electronic wallets, mobile phone top-up or in the name of another person (relative, friend, etc.).
How not to become a victim of telephone scams:
- When making a phone call on behalf of alleged relatives and reporting a difficult situation, one should call the relatives and friends in question, find out the details of what happened, and not transfer or give money to strangers;
- He will call back (or better yet go to any branch of the bank on whose behalf the message about problems with the current account/card service was received) and solve all the problems that have arisen. You can also call your relatives who are well versed in modern technologies, tell them about the received message and ask for advice. It should be remembered: no bank will ask the cardholder to perform any actions over the phone or communicate card details;
- Do not share information about yourself, your loved ones, relatives, bank cards, i.e. any confidential (personal) information to strangers (both in personal contact and by phone or Internet correspondence);
- Do not prepay for goods or promised payment (service), make payment only upon actual receipt.
How to avoid becoming a victim of internet scams:
- You should carefully study the information on the website, reviews, compare prices for the product of interest. Absence of information, confusing system of obtaining goods are often signs of fraud;
- Get the most information about the seller or store: address, phone numbers, history in social networks, availability of delivery service, etc. Legally operating online stores or retailers post complete information and work on the principle of "payment of goods after delivery";
- You cannot communicate (send by e-mail) information about your plastic cards. Criminals can use their details and make, for example, various purchases.
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