The Police warn that a moment's inattentiveness can seriously jeopardise all the funds in citizens’ bank accounts, which have recently become a key target for online fraudsters.
This year, the Slovenian police have received 79 reports, with total losses amounting to nearly €2.5 million, compared to around 47 reports with losses of approximately €2.1 million in the whole of last year.
Example of a fake MMS message. At a first glance, the message appears to have been sent by the bank.
The perpetrators send pre-prepared messages to randomly selected mobile phone numbers of Slovenian residents, which they obtain in various ways. The appearance of the SMS and MMS messages makes them look as though they were sent by the bank. Because the messages are sent to random numbers, the recipient is not necessarily a customer of the bank the message claims to be from.
Never click on links in messages!
These messages usually contain false claims, such as an urgent need to update your online banking details or a supposed technical error. All such messages have one thing in common: they contain a link that the recipient is urged to click.
Clicking on the link opens a website that looks identical to the bank’s official online banking page. You will then be asked to enter your online banking login details. If you provide this information, online fraudsters will obtain your credentials, gain unauthorised access to your online banking account, and subsequently steal all available funds from your bank account as well as misuse your debit and credit cards.
Police advice and warnings
To avoid falling victim, please bear the following in mind:
- Banks never send SMS or MMS messages asking you to click a link to access your online banking.
- Always access online banking by typing the official website address into your browser or by using the bank’s mobile app—never by clicking a link in a message.
- If clicking a link in a message opens an online banking page, this is a sign that something is wrong—do not enter any information.
- SMS or MMS messages may appear to come from your bank, but banks do not send such messages.
- If you have suffered any financial loss, collect all available documentation (emails, transaction details, mobile numbers, email addresses, IP addresses) and report the incident to your nearest police station and to your bank as soon as possible.