1. Scamming by pretending to be a bank or other financial intermediary
In this case, scammers use a wide range of methods to approach their victims: phone, regular mail, e-mail, online. The client is under the impression that he is being contacted by a bank. The most frequent excuse is some urgent matter related to the client’s bank account: proposals to block an erroneous payment order, stop unauthorised actions, verify data, demands to repay a bank loan, information about a money transfer, etc.
If contact is made in writing (e-mail, text message), it often contains a request to press a link that looks like the bank’s website or online banking. The client is then asked to enter their log-in details which the scammers then steal.
If contact is made over the phone, the client may be asked to provide their user ID, personal ID number, card PIN code or number. Later on you may see a request to enter your passwords sent by your means of identification.
Don’t forget – the scammer wants the client to authorise a payment transaction because in that case scamming is more difficult to recognise, and recovery of the transaction amount is more problematic.
Below are some examples when clients have received letters purportedly sent by Šiaulių bankas. Please, note that the sender is unclear (despite referring to Šiaulių bankas, the e-mail address is not @sb.lt), the text of such messages often contains typographical or business language errors (but not necessarily – an increasing number of scammers have good writing skills), the letter contains attachments infected with a virus or directing to external websites.
