The National Bank of Kazakhstan has warned that phone scammers have switched to a new method. This time they have started posing as delivery service employees. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
New scam scheme
"First, they call citizens on behalf of a courier or postal service and inform them that a parcel has arrived. To confirm delivery, they request the code from an SMS message. Scammers deliberately rush the person, not allowing them to carefully read the main content of the SMS. That is, the courier claims that he is waiting for the item, and if the recipient does not respond quickly, they will lose their turn," the bank says.
And if the phone conversation is interrupted, they may rush the person by saying that the delivery service will have to be re-registered.
Second stage: posing as eGov
"After receiving the SMS code, scammers move to the next method. At that point, the person who called the citizen introduces himself as a representative of the digital government (eGov). During the conversation, he claims that his account has been hacked, and scammers may be copying or stealing personal data," the message says.
In addition, to gain trust, they may claim that the "Stop-credit" service has been activated to protect the citizen, and that the situation itself is under the control of law enforcement agencies or the "security service of the National Bank." Further, there are cases when the phone line is connected to another person participating in the fraudulent scheme.
Psychological pressure
The ultimate goal of such tricks is to seize the citizen's money by any means. Through such schemes, scammers try to exert psychological pressure on their victim. Under the pretext of maintaining the confidentiality of the conversation, criminals may urge the person not to hang up and not to tell anyone else about what is happening. In some cases, they even intimidate by saying that criminal liability is provided for disclosing information. And if the conversation is interrupted, they assure that all procedures aimed at protecting the person's funds and personal data will be invalidated. Such pressure is aimed at limiting the citizen's ability to seek help from those around them, so that they do not consult with relatives, the bank, or law enforcement agencies.
National Bank recommendations
"It is necessary to carefully read the SMS message received on the phone, check the sender, and not tell anyone the SMS code. In case of a suspicious call, it is better to interrupt the conversation and contact the official phone number of the relevant organization yourself. National Bank employees do not make audio/video calls, do not service individual accounts, and do not advise on investing in investment unit funds or other financial products," the National Bank says.
Also, the National Bank does not engage in insurance of monetary funds, does not request bank card passwords and details, and does not conduct monetary settlements with the population.