Telephone scammers are completely unbelted - local portals are full of news about losses of 100, 200, 300 thousand, and even several million. It would seem that we are smart, advanced people, protected by information technology, and cheating on the phone  we are not afraid. But practice shows that we always forget about the main safety rule. What? We put together tips from banks and added them from ourselves.

How does your data get to scammers?

Probably the most frequently asked question on the forums is when the victims, burning with indignation, curse banks and accuse them of "draining" data. Indeed, such a situation may exist. Or maybe not. Here's what Kaspersky Lab says about how scammers get access to data.

You posted an ad on free sites (Avito, E1, many others) that you are looking for an apartment/car (for purchase). In general, let the world know that you have money
Participated in any draw, leaving your phone number and name to receive a prize.
Logged in to social networks, using your phone number as a login
It is possible that one of the employees of the bank you use is leaking information
A dozen more reasons.
Your phone number, name, and some habits (such as the time of visiting the site) they have. Psychology comes into play.

Psychology of scammers

When we hear stories about divorces or read how a pensioner gave gigantic sums to bad people, we think: “Well, they wouldn’t have done this with me, I would have figured them out. In addition, I am a modern user, it does not threaten me.

Yes, and scammers know that we think so. Therefore, they indulge in tricks: they hurry, scare, put pressure on pity or greed - in general, they make us want to pay them. Victims of scammers often say afterward: "It seemed that I could not be fooled so easily." And age has nothing to do with it - according to statistics, up to 40% of all deceived citizens of Russia have not even reached the age of Christ.

Learning to recognize patterns is easy. It is more difficult to make it so that at the right time rational thinking is turned on, so as not to make decisions on emotions.

How do they do it and what do they say?

Let's take for example the most common version of this year - a call, supposedly from the bank's security service. Or an SMS stating that money has been debited from your account or a purchase has been made, and if this is not your doing, then call to cancel the operation.

Here's what the Bank says - how can a scammer convince you

“We are calling from an official number, check on the website.”
For privacy reasons, I am including a bot that will protect your sensitive data” (you hear a slight rustle in the receiver).
For persuasiveness, he names your data and asks to transfer money “to a secure account assigned to a personal manager - this is necessary for security, and then you can return the money”
When a scammer calls or sends such messages, he understands that it is quite simple to expose him: just call the bank using the phone number indicated on the bank card, and not in the message. They will answer that there was no operation, and the situation will be resolved.

The fraudster's calculation is to unbalance us and force us to act impulsively. In everyday life, we do not expect that we will be "bred". In addition, new technologies are at their service. There have been cases when scammers knew the exact balance of their victim's card or, using number spoofing, called from the official bank number. All this adds to the realism and makes us believe that we are talking to a real employee of a real bank. But all of a sudden it's really bad? After all, we all know that this can happen - the historical memory of Russians has been accumulating for so many years for a reason. The collapse of the ruble? No problem! War is terrible, but yes! Does buckwheat end in stores? "Sho, again?"

Summarize. What to do if you are contacted by scammers?

If you answered a call from an unfamiliar number and during the conversation suspected that they were intruders, hang up - do not apologize or say goodbye.
When you receive a suspicious SMS, take a screenshot of it. This will help the bank to find scammers. Do not call the phone number indicated in the message and do not follow the link sent to you.
Call the bank at the number indicated on your card and report the intruders.
Check in the online bank that the money is not missing
In case of serious suspicion, just block the card.