Quick Learn | FAQ's | Technical Solutions

Social Engineering? Social engineering is a technique perpetrators of fraud use in order to lure people into a conduct based on typically human traits such as confidence, curiosity, naivety, fear, greed, etc. Perpetrators will pretend to be someone else so as to get hold of information and/or to make their victim carry out payments which, otherwise, would be impossible to obtain or would need a much bigger effort or cost much more money. There are various kinds of social engineering and they all affect our daily life in many ways. You may be a victim of this kind of deception when you are busy internet banking or carrying out an online payment. What will perpetrators do in order to deceive you? People who want to deceive you, often will use one of the following techniques: Phishing Sending a false e-mail on behalf of the CEO Below are some other examples: You are entitled to carry out (major) payments within your company and you receive a false e-mail on behalf of the CEO (or an other ...

What is skimming? Fraudsters use skimming to copy the data stored on the magnetic stripe of your bank card  (at the back of the card) when you put your card in a cash dispenser.  They use an almost invisible device installed right in front of the card slot on the cash dispenser in order to copy the data without the customer being aware of this.  At the same time, they try to see your secret code, for instance by making use of a minicamera or via  shoulder surfing .  The data that have been stolen, will be used for making a false card. What is card trapping?  Card trapping is a form of skimming.  Fraudsters don't use card trapping to copy the card data, but to make sure your card is trapped in the cash dispenser.  They will seize the opportunity of you leaving and looking for help to get hold of your card.  Also in this case, they will try to see your secret code. 

Shoulder Surfing? Shoulder surfing happens when a crook is looking over your shoulder while you are carrying out a transaction at a cash dispenser. By doing this, he hopes to get to know your secret code. Once he has seen it, he will try to divert your attention in order to get hold of your bank card. How does a criminal work? You are busy withdrawing money from a cash dispenser. All of a sudden, the person who is standing right behind you, will be so kind as to tell you that you have dropped a banknote. In the time it takes you to try to pick it up, this person will be gone… and your bank card as well. In fact, this person was not kindly waiting for his turn, while you were carrying out your transaction : he was looking over your shoulder and trying to catch a glimpse of your secret code. Now that he has got hold of your bank card and secret code, he will use them for withdrawing money from your account. Telling you that you have dropped a banknote is just one way, for he may as well ...

Identity Theft ? What is identity theft? Fraudsters use identity theft to take over your identity and pretend to be you. Identity theft can be committed in all facets of everyday life, even when you’re using internet banking or making payments via the internet. For example, fraudsters can open a bank account in your name, in which they deposit fraudulent money or make purchase against credit. How does a criminal work? For identity theft, fraudsters make use of the personal data they have accessed via phishing, malware or another type of social engineering. Fraudsters can get your information in a variety of ways, and not just via the internet or your computer: they can also request a replacement authentication code from your bank because “you lost the old one”. The bank sends this to your home address, where the fraudster steals this from your mailbox. This can be especially dangerous in apartment buildings because all the mailboxes hang next to one another and the lock is more easily ...

Malware? Malware is a collective name for all sorts of malicious and harmful software. Unrequested and undetected, it succeeds in installing itself on your computer. Malware influences normal computer processes and steals information. In the latter case, we’re referring to spyware. Fraudsters use malware to get money out of your account as well as to commit identity theft. How does malware get on your computer? Malware is often hidden in free software or shareware that you download from the internet (for example, a multimedia program or file, such as music or a video, or a peer-to-peer transfer system): When visiting a website (not your bank’s), you get a pop-up that states that it has found a virus on your computer; You can install a free trial of a virus scanner or run an online scan of your computer; You get an e-mail that appears to be from your bank with the request to install the attached update to plug a hole in their internet banking security; You find a video on the internet. ...

Bank Card Phishing? Fraudsters will use bank card phishing in order to get hold of a consumer’s bank card and PIN code. They will ask their victim, for example by means of an e-mail or SMS, to replace his bank card. He will be asked to send his bank card to a specific address and to type in his PIN code on a false website. As soon as they are in possession of the bank card and the PIN code, it will be easy for them to steal money. Please keep in mind that no bank will ever ask to disclose the PIN code of your bank card. Nor will it ever ask you to send your bank card. How do fraudsters operate? They send an e-mail or SMS message to inform you for instance that your bank card is no longer valid. They will give you a link so as to direct you to a false website, where you will be asked to disclose your personal data, card number and  PIN code; to send your  current bank card  by mail. What can you do? Never answer e-mails and SMS messages which look suspect and in which you ...

Phishing? Perpetrators of fraud using the phishing technique try to get hold of your personal data and/or your  payment card  by sending e-mails, sms messages and/or calling you on the telephone. Those data (and your payment card) will allow them to withdraw money from your account but also to perpetrate identity fraud. Phishing does not only affect internet banking but it can also pose a threat to any payment system. How does a criminal work? You receive an e-mail out of the blue. The message appears to be from your bank or the company issuing your credit card. You have to click a link to a website that looks extremely similar to your bank’s own website or the website for the company issuing your credit card. On this site, you read that you must enter, complete or check your personal data concerning your accounts, credit cards and codes. This will be for “security reasons”, “file checks”, “data loss”, etc. Sometimes you will also be requested to mail your data directly to a s...