Fraudulent SMS leaves Litoměřice region man down 200,000 crowns
Criminal investigators in Litoměřice are investigating an online fraud case in which the victim lost more than 200,000 crowns after clicking a link in an SMS.
Fake payment arrears message, three unauthorised transactions and losses exceeding 200,000 crowns
The Czech police force has reported that criminal investigators from the general crime department in Litoměřice are investigating an online fraud case that began with a single SMS message and resulted in a loss of more than 200,000 crowns.
The victim received a text message on his mobile phone with the following content: "Good day, we have recorded an unpaid fee for you. We ask for it to be paid as soon as possible. Thank you for prompt handling." The text contained an internet link. The man clicked on it and, believing he was logging in via bank identification to his insurance account, completed identity verification and confirmed the action on his phone. In reality, he had authorised access by a fraudulent system.
Several days later, he discovered that three unauthorised payments had been made from his account to a foreign bank account. The total loss exceeded 200,000 crowns.
The case is being investigated on suspicion of committing criminal offences of fraud, unauthorised acquisition, forgery and alteration of a payment instrument, and unauthorised access to a computer system. If caught and convicted, the perpetrator faces a prison sentence of up to eight years.
Similar cases are increasing. The fraudsters send SMS messages that mimic communication from banks, insurance companies, transport operators or state institutions, with the aim of extracting login credentials or authorisation for banking operations.
Police recommend not clicking on attached links when receiving such messages and verifying information exclusively through the official websites or applications of the respective institution. Attention should be paid to grammatical errors, unusual phrasing and artificial time pressure. Equally important is to read carefully what is being confirmed on the phone — the attackers rely on people approving requests automatically. If suspicious activity on the account does occur, it is necessary to contact the bank immediately, as in such situations minutes are critical.
Source: Google News CZ — Crime (cs)