Extraordinary announcement of EL.AS. for scams: What to look out for

The caution of citizens draws the Greek police, as well as lately cleverly deceive owners of tourist accommodation and gas stationsdetaching significantly amounts of money from their bank accounts

In this context, it recently issued a statement, which recommends to the citizens do not enter the username and password of their electronic banking websites or forms that open through hyperlinks (links) and do not disclose to others their personal codes (PIN) or credit card verification codes

The most common methods used by the expert and useful tips to avoid deception

In this context, they are addressed to professionals in these fields and specifically:

• contact me by phone owners of hotels and accommodation in tourist destinations as supposedly interested in booking rooms and under the pretext of deposit, extract their personal bank codes (during communication between them or by sending a message on their mobile phone with a link to a website, which is similar to that of the bank, where they enter their personal codes) and then transfer money to other accounts the
• pretend to be truck owners and under the pretext of refueling, persuade them to send the account number (IBAN) in order to deposit the price electronically.

They then send a message to the victim’s cell phone, asking to “click” on the linkresulting in a web page similar to that of the bank, where -as in the previous case- victims enter their personal bank codes “allegedly” to confirm the transactionas a result of which the perpetrators gain access to them and transfer money.

Therefore, in order to avoid such incidents, EL.AS. Advises professionals not to enter their electronic banking username and password on websites or forms that open through hyperlinks (links) and not to disclose their personal passwords (PIN) or credit card verification codes to others.

Other methods used by experts:

• call unsuspecting citizens, pretend police officers, doctors, lawyers, etc., falsely claiming that a close relative of theirs has caused a car accident with fatal or serious injury. They then demand significant sums of money to avoid allegedly imminent criminal consequences,
• enter the homes of unsuspecting citizensfor the purpose of theft or robbery, appearing as technicians (PPC, elevator maintenance, etc.) or sellers of various items or acquaintances of relatives,
• approach, mainly the elderly, ostensibly as envoys of their relatives and on the pretext of an immediate and urgent financial need, they seek to extract money from them. They are usually approached on the way out or shortly before entering their home, outside Banks, shops, etc.,
• approach people through Social Media on the pretext that they are interested in close interpersonal relationshipsgain the trust of the victim and then, under various pretexts, extort money.
• looking for prospective buyers to sell, as an “opportunity”, various items (jewelry, mobile phones, etc.), supposedly of great value, at low prices. After “bargaining” the price for a long time, they finally “compromise” on a low price and sell the items, which, however, are usually of cheap value.
• inform, mainly professionals, that they allegedly inadvertently deposited a larger amount of money, in exchange for a service or product they bought from them and demand the return of the difference. In fact, in order to prove their claim, they send a fake receipt of the money deposit.
• post or looking for ads on the internet for supposedly buying and selling products or vehicles and deceive citizens who:
• as buyers, they send the monetary price of the product they are supposed to buy (eg via e-banking, paypal, etc.), without ever receiving it or receiving another, cheap value,

-as sellers, are persuaded by the perpetrators that they have been paid for the product they sold, mainly in the following ways:

– show them a non-existent account number, which shows a false electronic transfer of the transaction price to their account or a fake transfer transfer certificate,

– persuade them to issue, through the application of a credit institution, a code with the price of the transaction. They then ask for this code, claiming that they will deposit the due amount in their account. However, the perpetrators using this code, withdraw, through an ATM, the amount from the seller’s account.

Advises citizens to avoid deception:

• Always inform the police authorities, even in the event of an attempted fraud against you.
• Avoid disclosing personal financial data and under no circumstances disclose personal passwords (PINs) or credit card verification codes to third parties.
• Enter in the browser the address of your bank’s website and do not enter it through hyperlinks (links). In any case, make sure that the e-banking page you are logging in to is authentic.
• Do not fill out forms with your personal details when they are sent to you from unknown email addresses or via messages (SMS, Social Media, etc.).
• In case of electronic money transfer to a potential seller, cross-check his details, as the beneficiary of the indicated account (Name, TIN).
• Verify the movements in your bank accounts before any transaction and declare that you are not going to return money, without prior cross-checking of financial data.
• Avoid depositing money to private sellers you do not know, even if they reveal their personal information or bank account number.
• Do not be easily persuaded by people who “approach” you as acquaintances of relatives – friends.
• Be especially wary of strangers trying to enter your home under various pretexts and tricks.
• If a stranger enters your home under any pretext (eg conducting a survey, selling a product, needing to make a call, etc.), do not allow them to move to other areas of your home other than what is needed. never lose eye contact with him.
• In this case, take care of your personal belongings, in order to avoid the possibility of their removal by the method of employment.
• Be especially cautious when strangers try to persuade you to pay a sum of money, under the pretext of an emergency relative – friend (eg hospitalization). The same can be tried over the phone. For the same reasons do not give in to prompts for a meeting (appointment, etc.).
• In cases where strangers invoke the emergency of an acquaintance-relative of yours, always seek to contact your acquaintance-relative by phone, to confirm what they invoke. The communication should be done on your own phone and on your own initiative and you should not accept talking to a person, who was called by strangers.
• In any case, state that you are not going to hand over money unless your acquaintances-relatives show up.
• Under no circumstances should strangers take you to a Credit Shop or ATM to withdraw money.
• Do not be easily persuaded by occasional purchases of products offered by strangers, especially without seeing these products first.
• Do not be persuaded by strangers, who appear to be Civil Servants or other personnel to fix a technical problem, unless you have called them before.
• Do not be persuaded when strangers ask you to pay money for debts of acquaintances or relatives to public services or to shops-companies to buy goods-offer services.
• It is pointed out that hospitals or public services do not use the practice of their employees going to homes or public places and asking citizens to pay for services they provide.
• Be especially cautious when you find ads for selling vehicles at attractive prices as a “buying opportunity”.
• Avoid, preferably, transactions with persons who provide contact information outside Greece.
• Always have the telephone numbers available, which you must contact in case of emergency (Police, Fire Department, Hospitals, close relatives, etc.).
• Try to retain the characteristics of the perpetrators, the vehicles they drive (registration number, vehicle make, color, etc.), the telephone numbers from which they are calling you or the email address (URL) to help the project of law enforcement authorities.

In any case, more tips to avoid deceiving citizens are available in a special banner on the website of the Greek Police (www.hellenicpolice.gr).

Additional information and advice on cyber fraud cases can be found on the website of the Cybercrime Prosecution Directorate www.cyberalert.gr.

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