Phone bill fraud spreading in Finland – Instagram message can steal hundreds of euros
Eastern Finland police are warning of a new fraud method in which a criminal links a victim's mobile phone subscription to an Apple account as a payment method. The damage can reach hundreds of euros per month.
Eastern Finland police warn: Instagram fraud can charge hundreds of euros to phone bill
According to Stara.fi, a new type of fraud method has been discovered in Finland in which criminals exploit mobile phone subscription billing. Eastern Finland Police is investigating the cases.
The fraudster contacts the victim via social media, posing as an acquaintance behind a fake profile. The message first asks for a phone number, and then for a verification code sent to the phone. The aim is to link the victim's mobile phone subscription as a payment method to, for example, Apple's app store account.
Once the fraudster has obtained both the number and the verification code, they can make purchases in the app store, which are charged directly to the victim's phone bill. The monthly limit for purchases made through a mobile phone subscription varies depending on the operator between 150–300 euros, so the financial damage can amount to several hundred euros.
The victim often discovers the fraud only after receiving an unusually large phone bill or noticing unexpected charges on their bill. Based on the criminal reports filed to date, the victims have included both adult adults and children under 18 years of age.
Police emphasise that verification codes received by text message on a phone should be treated as carefully as banking credentials or other personal identification information. The code should not be shared even if the request appears to come from a familiar person – even a familiar account can be hacked.
The fraud typically involves a sense of urgency, designed to get the victim to act without thinking. Police urge people to stop and think before disclosing any identification information.
So far, contact has been made via Instagram and the payment method has been added to an Apple account, but police remind that the fraud may spread to other channels and app stores.
If you suspect you have been defrauded, police advise you to act as follows:
- Check your mobile phone bill immediately.
- Contact your own telecommunications operator to block the said payment method.
- Clarify the origin of the payments with the operator.
- File a police report and attach the conversation with the fraudster and the identification details of the social media account.
Source: Google News FI — Crime (fi)