VTB told about popular schemes of fraudsters on New Year's Eve

The run-up to the New Year vacations sees an increase in fraudsters using ad hoc phishing and creating fake company applications promising lucrative offers. In addition, at this time there are more threats associated with the use of modern technologies, including spyware (software) and remote access trojans (RATs). This was told to "Izvestia" in VTB on December 27.

The bank noted that attackers under the guise of New Year bonuses or social payments offer users to install an "official application". After downloading it, the scammers have access to the phone.

Another scheme of swindlers - fake sales and discounts. For this purpose, fake websites and applications with tempting offers on behalf of different companies are created, and after going to them, the user downloads malware. It collects card and account details and passwords.

Congratulatory links are also among the popular variants of deception. Scammers send "New Year cards" or "videos" with links in messengers. If you click on them, they activate spyware that gains access to smartphone data.

In addition, fraudsters may offer to install "holiday wallpapers" or "New Year's checklists" that give attackers access to the camera, microphone, banking applications and data from the phone.

The credit organization reminded that the use of spyware allows fraudsters to: copy data of bank cards and accounts; intercept passwords and confirmation codes; hijack accounts in messengers for further distribution of malicious links to the victim's contacts; control the device to make transactions without the knowledge of the owner. Android devices with NFC function, which can be used to clone bank cards and make contactless payments, pose a special danger.

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The bank gave some advice on protection. They recommended to install applications only from official app stores, not to follow suspicious links from SMS and messengers. In addition, it is worth checking the permissions of applications before installation. You should not trust programs that request access to the camera, microphone, files and other functions without a clear need. At the same time, you should use anti-virus software and keep it updated

"Now the attacks of fraudsters on customers are intensifying against the background of the pre-holiday rush, the trend will continue during the holidays, when people are most relaxed. Attackers are actively using situational phishing, adapting their schemes to the New Year context. Links mimic large marketplaces and attract customers with big discounts. We wish everyone a safe holiday," said Nikita Chugunov, Head of Digital Business Department, Senior Vice President of VTB.

Earlier, on November 17, Evgeny Pankov, project manager of the .RU/.RF domain coordination center, told Izvestia about the observed steady growth of phishing attacks conducted via messengers, especially Telegram. Among other things, attackers often forge links to popular marketplaces. But, according to him, the share of successful phishing attacks has been gradually decreasing recently.