Fraudsters disguised as insurers: how to recognize them
They call you ostensibly from an insurance company and offer to issue a new policy, because the old one will soon expire. "Insurance agent" offers pleasant bonuses and favorable rates if you agree to purchase a policy in their company. It sends a link to the company's website to your phone, by clicking on which you only have to enter the necessary data and make a payment. The “Agent” also politely explains the entire procedure for purchasing the policy. It seems that you did everything according to the instructions, but instead of a new online policy, you get a “broken trough”. Because they fell victim to a widespread fraudulent scheme, when attackers pretend to be representatives of insurance companies and send links to phishing sites, that is, clone sites of insurers, in order to catch you on the hook and eventually get your money.
How can scammers get access to your accounts?
When applying for insurance through a phishing site, as a rule, it is required to enter the full details of the card: full name, a mandatory three-digit CVC / CVV code located on the back, the expiration date of the card, and, possibly, the details of an identity document, including the IIN. Moreover, a phishing site may practically not differ from the real site of an insurance organization either in design or in content. Sometimes the site offers to make a trial payment in a small amount, for example, 100 tenge, which will definitely be returned to the account. But for this, in addition to the three digits on the back of the card, you must also enter the SMS code on the website that will come to your phone. Or the scammers come up with another way to find out this code, which they need as the last puzzle in the mosaic of their financial scam to gain full access to your online banking. Then scammers can transfer money, pay for purchases on the Internet, issue loans and perform other operations without your knowledge.
Three signs that you are a scammer
There are several signs that should alert you, and by which you can figure out scammers.
Sign #1. Fraudsters are the first to contact
Fraudsters deftly "mimic" real insurance agents and, accordingly, act like they do: they call customers, write to instant messengers, send SMS messages to the phone, offering to issue a policy online. But unlike real agents, scammers actively use modern technologies and can easily spoof the insurer's number, that is, call you from the number of the insurance organization where you are served. Their goal is to interest you, gain confidence, get consent to apply for insurance and force you to follow their link or dictate your card details and SMS code.
Required actions. Check to see if your policy has actually expired. If strangers call you, whether they are representatives of insurance companies, banks or other organizations and even law enforcement agencies, do not take their word for it. Specify the name of the organization, the name, surname and position of the employee, call this company at the official number and find out whether the person who called you is working or not. It is better to issue insurance policies on the official website of the insurance organization. It's easy and safe.
The insurance company must have a license issued by the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the regulation and development of the financial market, and exactly for the type of insurance that you need. You can check the license of existing insurance companies on the website of the regulator www.gov.kz. Also, the list of websites of insurance companies used to conclude insurance contracts in electronic form is posted on the website of State Credit Bureau JSC in the Online Insurance sectio
Sign #2. Scammers always start talking about material gain
Scammers can use social engineering techniques, put pressure on you or lure you with pranks, bonuses to evoke strong emotions. Attackers manipulate on the topic of money, because the probability of getting or losing them always causes strong emotions in the interlocutor. As psychologists, they know that if a person is out of balance, then it will become easier to control him. For example, they can say that “by issuing a policy now, you automatically take part in the drawing of an apartment, but the promotion ends in a few hours,” or “by issuing an OGPO policy now, you will receive 50 liters of gasoline, but you should hurry, it will end soon because there are a lot of people who want it.” Tempting?
Required actions. Just be realistic. Golden mountains are always promised only by scammers. In the end, you can just call the insurance company and find out if it carries out the promotions that the "agents" told you about on the phone. Or look at this information on the official Internet resource of the insurer, as well as in his social media accounts. Only here it is important to be careful and not run into a duplicate site.
Sign #3. Fraudsters want three digits on the back of your card and an SMS code
Sites - clones that are created by scammers, are very similar to real ones, and sometimes their addresses differ from the official ones only by a couple of characters. It should be noted that few of the users come to mind to carefully consider the address bar of the browser. But most often, phishing sites are created in a hurry, there are a lot of spelling errors, a different color scheme is used, some sections do not work. This catches the eye of attentive users. Fraudsters can send you a link to just such a fake site for buying an online policy, where you will be required to enter full payment card details and an SMS code.
Required actions. Look at what is written in the address bar. If there is https and a closed padlock icon, it means that the connection is secure and the data you enter is automatically encrypted. Experienced hackers can, of course, break even such trusted connections if they wish. Therefore, it is still better to type the address of the website of the insurance organization where you want to purchase a policy yourself, and not trust strangers who throw off incomprehensible links.
What to do if you gave your data to scammers?
If you left your data on a fraudulent site, immediately contact the bank with a request to block your card. It will then have to be reissued. Then file a complaint with law enforcement. After all, the issue of investigating cases related to financial fraud is within the competence of the police. Be sure to keep a copy of the application. In the event that attackers use your data for other frauds, for example, to apply for a loan in your name, you will be able to prove your innocence.
Also, be sure to change all passwords: for email, online banking, social media accounts. Passwords need to come up with complex and different, more than 10 characters, with uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and icons. Always keep your passwords and other personal data private!
Source: https://fingramota.kz/ru/post/moshenniki-pod-vidom-strahovshchikov-kak-ih-raspoznat
Information about the main signs and schemes of fraud on the educational media portal on financial literacy: https://fingramota.kz/ru/rubric/caution-scammers
