Anna:
I needed a large loan. I applied to several banks. One was refused almost immediately, I was waiting for two more to decide.
Three days later, a man called and introduced himself as an employee of one of these banks. I confirmed that I had applied to his bank for a loan. The employee asked if I had their card. It seems like - to approve a loan, you need to enter her details in my application. As soon as the bank makes a final positive decision, he said, the money will be transferred there, to the card. I dictated the card number, but the card with such data was not displayed in the database, he said that you can search for it in another database, for this you need to dictate the last three digits on the back. She dictated.
He thanked him and said that the loan would be approved soon. We said goodbye - and a few minutes later a text message came to my phone about the withdrawal of $ 1000 from the account - all the money, including the credit limit. I thought that there was a failure, the card was in place, I did not give the pin code.
And my husband read the SMS and said that it was a fraud. I called the bank's hotline and went to the police. The money will probably not be returned to me, but interest for using the credit limit is charged. I am trying to understand how my money was stolen.
Financial Culture Expert:
As a rule, banking data is protected very securely. However, cases of theft of databases do happen sometimes. This was the reason that the fraudster called Anna - he knew which bank she was a client of. After finding out why she went to the bank, he asked to give him confidential information. After he received it, it was not difficult to steal money from the account.
Three digits on the back of a bank card are the cvv (cvc) code, the card's authentication code. This is confidential information, the same as the pin-code of the card, codes from SMS or a secret word (you come up with it when you issue the card) that you receive to confirm the payment. If a fraudster knows the details of the card, its cvv (cvc) code and your secret word, he will easily gain access to your money.
Bank employees do not ask for personal data by phone. If in a conversation you are asked to dictate the code on the back of the card, you are talking to the fraudster.
What to do if a bank employee calls you
I needed a large loan. I applied to several banks. One was refused almost immediately, I was waiting for two more to decide.
Three days later, a man called and introduced himself as an employee of one of these banks. I confirmed that I had applied to his bank for a loan. The employee asked if I had their card. It seems like - to approve a loan, you need to enter her details in my application. As soon as the bank makes a final positive decision, he said, the money will be transferred there, to the card. I dictated the card number, but the card with such data was not displayed in the database, he said that you can search for it in another database, for this you need to dictate the last three digits on the back. She dictated.
He thanked him and said that the loan would be approved soon. We said goodbye - and a few minutes later a text message came to my phone about the withdrawal of $ 1000 from the account - all the money, including the credit limit. I thought that there was a failure, the card was in place, I did not give the pin code.
And my husband read the SMS and said that it was a fraud. I called the bank's hotline and went to the police. The money will probably not be returned to me, but interest for using the credit limit is charged. I am trying to understand how my money was stolen.
Financial Culture Expert:
As a rule, banking data is protected very securely. However, cases of theft of databases do happen sometimes. This was the reason that the fraudster called Anna - he knew which bank she was a client of. After finding out why she went to the bank, he asked to give him confidential information. After he received it, it was not difficult to steal money from the account.
Three digits on the back of a bank card are the cvv (cvc) code, the card's authentication code. This is confidential information, the same as the pin-code of the card, codes from SMS or a secret word (you come up with it when you issue the card) that you receive to confirm the payment. If a fraudster knows the details of the card, its cvv (cvc) code and your secret word, he will easily gain access to your money.
Bank employees do not ask for personal data by phone. If in a conversation you are asked to dictate the code on the back of the card, you are talking to the fraudster.
What to do if a bank employee calls you
- Bank employees usually call to give you important information or to suggest a new service. However, if the conversation seems suspicious to you, take a time out, ask the other person to call back in 10 minutes. In the meantime, contact the bank's hotline and specify the information that their employee previously told you.
- Do not give confidential information: the code on the back of the card, codes from SMS and your secret word.
