New schemes, fake websites and calls — and how to protect yourself.
On social media or in a messenger you see a tempting offer: “Work from home, 1 hour a day”, “Financial assistant wanted”, “Rent out your card for a week and earn a percentage”. Students and job seekers are targeted most often. Here is how it works: someone else's money lands on your card, you withd
Someone calls and introduces themselves as an employee of your bank's security team. They sound confident, know your name and sometimes even the last digits of your card. They say there is a suspicious transaction on your card, someone is trying to take your money, and it must be stopped “right now”
A call comes at night or in the middle of the workday. It is your son's, daughter's or brother's voice, crying: “Mum, I've been in an accident, help me!” Then a “police investigator”, “doctor” or “the victim's relative” takes the phone: urgent money is needed to “settle things on the spot”. Today a
An ad or an unknown “advisor” writes: “Guaranteed high returns every month”, “AI does the trading, you earn”, “Limited spots — join today”. The platform has a polished website, a personal account and charts. At first you invest a small amount and watch your “profit” grow fast in the dashboard. Some
You get a short, alarming text: “Your card has been blocked”, “Your account is frozen”, “Suspicious login detected”. It contains a link or a number you must “call urgently”. The link opens a fake page that looks just like your bank's website. It asks for your card details, password and the code fro
“Your parcel is being held at the warehouse”, “The address is incorrect”, “Pay a small delivery fee”. If you shop online often, a message like this looks perfectly normal — and that is exactly what scammers count on. The link opens a page that looks like a courier company's site. The amount is tiny
You post an ad to sell a phone, a bike or old furniture. Soon a message arrives: “Is it still available? I'll take it, but I'm out of town — I'll pay now and send a courier.” The buyer doesn't even haggle. Then they send a link to a “safe deal” or “receive payment” page. It looks like a familiar we
A message arrives: “Congratulations! You won a new phone in our giveaway!” The page looks like that of a well-known shop or a popular blogger: same logo, similar name, lots of “happy winner” comments. To claim the prize there is one small condition: pay for delivery, a “tax” or “insurance”. You get