A new type of fake banker. Many people are fooled
Someone is impersonating a bank employee? You say: known. Apparently so, but there are reports from France that this scam has just gained a new variant.
Fraud in which the attacker impersonates a bank employee is a well-known threat. Usually, however, the perpetrator contacts you by phone. But what if he showed up at your door?
No, this is not a joke, but a real threat. The only small consolation is that for now the only documented cases are in France. However, we know perfectly well how such ideas can inspire scammers from all over the world.
Fake banker at your door
Like before, the criminal calls and threatens his future victim by burglarizing the account, pretending to be a banker. The difference is that this is not the actual moment of attack, but only a form of introduction.
As described by the French gendarmerie, the fraudster states that he is going to the apartment due to the incident A consultant will knock and help you go through the required procedure. This one actually shows up, but he’s obviously in disguise.
Thieves use fictitious forms on which they are found questions including for a login and password for electronic banking – we read in the report. They also try, under the pretext of achievement temporary deposit in the security department, take your debit and credit cards with you.
Admit it, it sounds daring, but contrary to appearances, it is not incidental. The services estimate that in the Paris region alone, about 150 cases of this type have been documented, and the total loss amounts to nearly EUR 0.5 million (approx. PLN 2.17 million).
Attackers combine techniques, and the money is difficult to recover later
As highlighted, attackers are particularly effective when they start combining techniques. And, for example, they precede the visit of a fake banker by phone from a known numberassociated with a given bank, which they accomplish thanks to identifier spoofing.
This is what two 19-year-olds were supposed to do, who at the end of 2023 convinced a senior from Yvelines to give them a payment card and quickly spent PLN 6,000 using it. euro (approx. PLN 26,000). Both were detained, but the full amount could not be recovered, it was concluded.
Meanwhile, the fight against disguised people is supposed to be a big challenge. Also because in France, just like in Poland, some banks still use the so-called courier process.
This is a model in which a courier, this time a real one, arrives to confirm the identity of the bank customer. Of course, it does not ask for a login and password later, but less technically advanced people may mistakenly interpret such a visit as a repeated procedure.
