The police warn of fraudsters who pose as buyers at online marketplaces. Stumbling on a scam website can be expensive, and you can come across links in scam messages from both Facebook and Torink.
The police have come to the attention of several cases where fraudsters have gained access to their victims’ bank accounts through Facebook.
Eastern Finland’s police say in their press release that, especially with the so-called courier fraud, it has been possible to obtain a significant financial benefit.
In one case, the victim had sold his product in Facebook’s Marketplace section, but received a link to a scam website imitating Posti’s official pages from a fraudster posing as a buyer. The victim had entered his bank card information on the website, which the criminal used to buy plane tickets and hotel accommodation for 12,000 euros.
In another case, 19,000 euros were taken from the couple in a similar way. The fraudster posing as the buyer sent the seller links to the fake pages of both Matkahuolto and Posti. Entering bank credentials into a scam website directly handed them over to criminals.
On the other hand, one investment scam is not the crime commissioner of the Eastern Finland Police Juha Leinonen according to successful. The fraudster had called the victim pretending to be an Osuuspanki clerk and told that the victim’s and his spouse’s money was in danger.
– According to the caller, they had to create a new security account where the couple’s money would be transferred to safety. Fortunately, the victim realized the scam during the call, and the substantial money transfers attempted by the scammer did not take place in time, says Leinonen in the press release.
According to the Cybersecurity Center, users of Tori.fi have also reported similar scams.
Do not give out your bank credentials
Although the matter has been regularly reminded for years, the police consider it necessary to tell citizens once again how to keep their money safe:
- Never share your bank credentials with anyone on the phone, text message, instant messaging app or email.
- Never open links in a vague text message or email.
- Log in to online banking using the bank’s own mobile application or the bank’s own website. Do not go to the bank’s website via a search engine, e-mail or text message link.
- If you suspect a message is a scam, do not reply to the message or open any links or attachments in it.