People impersonating Greek Banks.

[softee-pea]

Hello everyone,
I have a problem with some people impersonating banks. I am concerned about family falling for the scam.

First of all let me tell you that I have minimal experience with security online. I just do the basics; I keep my passwords long and don't login from just any device. I watch out not to click weird links and I have a second wifi for guests. I try to get as much knowledge as I can, because I think it is much needed these days. Every little habit I pick up, I try to pass on to my family as well.

So to get to the point, a family member's colleague recently fell victim to a scam. Someone was impersonating their bank...and they just gave them every bit of info they asked for. That was over the phone. I know this sounds really dumb and I know this kind of scam happens a lot. The person lost some money and until now, the bank has not reimbursed it.

Now a few days ago, the family member this time, received an email from their bank. Remembering the fiasco from earlier, they told me.
According to the email, they had to get in touch with the bank via a link to solve a problem related to the reissue of a credit card.
Here it gets weird. Because we were waiting for a credit card that got reissued.
The problem is the reissue happens automatically, because the card wasn't lost. It's just an automatic renewal after the expiration date.

I did some searches with the email address the scammer used. Found that there is an account with a similar username to the email, on a site called 'raid forums'. To my surprise, it got recently taken down for providing hacked databases to scammers.
Now, I realise this is far fetched. Anything else could have happened. The most likely issue is that the card was used on an insecure online shop. But what if the bank was actually compromised and millions of customers are being farmed by scammers right now for this reason?

Today I talked to other people about it. Pretty much everyone has gotten a similar call, e-mail or sms the past few weeks. It is happening a lot!
I already contacted the authorities and explained everything. Got a burp as a reply and a tired 'we'll pass it on to the relevant department'.
But I do believe that they will pass it on to Europol at some point, since I mentioned the name of the forum and it is in an active investigation.

My dear technophiles, I am a very anxious person and right now, since that day I am searching for an answer; How did they know about the expiry date? I hope just from a payment on some shady site.
Is some device compromised in any way?
What if the bank got hacked somehow. I trust that they would never tell their customers until it is too late. That is how they operate.
Should I tell them to talk directly with the bank about it?


I have links, emails, phone numbers they use. I can post them here whenever, if it is allowed.
The scripts I used to get info from the email are on GitHub. I can mention them too, it it is allowed.

Thanks for taking time to read.
Sorry for any inconvenience.

[Kitty La Gore]

Hi softee-pea,

First off, I'm so sorry your family has been through this. Reading through, it looks like your family member did the right thing by asking for another set of eyes, and it doesn't appear they clicked anything - is that correct? It can feel very intrusive and unnerving, but the bank has not been hacked. Credit cards are vulnerable to database hacks, and this happens all the time.

This isn't the type of scam we go after as this was likely the result of a database hack where someone found names and credit card numbers. We do occasionally bait scammers who use stolen cards, but we don't go after any "spearphishing" attempts as it could put an innocent person at risk.

The correct response here is to alert the bank. If there's enough reason to suspect the card was compromised, they'll monitor it for fraudulent charges and change the CVV or the expiry date to prevent further issues. Credit card transactions are covered by the banks, so fraud will be corrected if it happens. If you think your family member has given other information to a site, please have them contact their bank and set up credit monitoring so they are not a victim of ID theft.

Finally, I do encourage you to post the scammer's information at scamwarners.com - but do not post anything that might reveal your family member's ID.

Hang in there, and stay vigilant. Your family is fortunate to have you on their side!

Kitty

[softee-pea]

Hello Kitty La Gore,

Thank you so much for replying, I really needed this right now.

I am sorry, in my frustration I didn't get that this place actually goes after those people. That is not my intention.
However your advice has really calmed everyone down and I thank you a lot for that.

Just sent a text to everyone I know was contacted with your recommendations; To contact the bank so they can monitor accounts for fraudulent activity and change the card info. I also sent them material I found to teach their kids about good online practices, since parents' credit cards are so accessible to their kids these days.
I'm learning a lot too in the process.

I think I will take a look at that forum and warn as many people as I can.

Stay safe and healthy!

Pea

[Kitty La Gore]

You are a wonderful support to your loved ones, and I'm so very glad you passed that information along!

Hoping for the best

Kitty