Nordea tells you which five methods of operation help you secure your money. It considers the proliferation of various scams to be a social problem.
In its press release, Nordea says that various scams have increased significantly over the past year. According to it, it is a social problem, the solution of which requires large-scale cooperation from various actors.
The most common types of scams Nordea has encountered have been phishing messages and phone calls, the number of which has increased sharply. They are often done under the guise of haste, trusting that the victim will act before thinking.
– Scams and different types of phishing have developed strongly in the direction that strong social manipulation is applied to the victim, for example by referring to a rush or some threat. At the same time, the aim is to get the victim to act actively on behalf of the fraudster, says Nordea’s fraud prevention expert Sara Helin states in the announcement.
Helin says that often the victim hands over his bank ID and possibly his card details to the fraudster and confirms, for example, payments several times.
– He can also be manipulated into making payments himself, which is a worrying trend. This type of activity has previously been typical of other types of scams, such as investment scams and love scams, says Helin.
Banks have developed their operations
According to Finanssiala ry, around 77 million euros were tried to be taken from customers of Finnish banks using the most typical types of fraud. The biggest losses were seen in investment scams, the number of which increased by up to 91 percent.
However, the banks also managed to prevent fraud more effectively than before, for as much as 32.7 million euros, which was more than twice as much as in 2022.
– Even though criminals are constantly developing their methods of operation, banks keep up and are able to detect fraud better all the time, says Helin.
Five easy ways to protect yourself
There is always time to check what is being done and confirm. According to Helin, this is Nordea’s single most important instruction in protecting against fraud.
Nordea’s five points to avoid being scammed:
- Always read carefully what you are confirming. Who is the recipient of the event, and what is the amount involved.
- Treat unexpected contacts with caution. Please verify if you are not absolutely sure that it is correct.
- Do not use your bank credentials or enter your card information on a page that you have reached via a link in the message.
- Your bank IDs are personal – do not give your ID to anyone, not even the police or a bank representative.
- The scammer can also try to manipulate you into making the payments yourself. Do not make payments under pressure, but contact your bank instead.
Source: Nordea