On May 30, 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine together with the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine launched the All-Ukrainian information campaign on payment security #КібербезпекаФінансів.
Its purpose is to improve citizens' awareness of payment security and to develop skills in protecting financial data in the virtual space.
Modern full-scale warfare continues not only on the battlefield, but also in cyberspace, in particular, there is an increase in cyberfraud and cybercrime.
At the end of last year, the National Bank, with the support of the USAID Project "Investments for Business Sustainability", conducted the first nationwide representative survey of the population of Ukraine regarding the rules of payment security and combating fraud. Its purpose was to determine the level of knowledge of Ukrainians in the field of payment security and to identify gaps in this issue. The National Bank used the results of the research to develop educational products for different age groups and to improve the effectiveness of information campaigns against payment and cyber fraud (they are not published in order to avoid the possibility of being used by fraudsters).
The most popular method of fraud with payment cards in Ukraine, as well as in the world, traditionally remains social engineering. At the same time, a significant amount of cyber fraud last year was related to phishing. Using phishing resources (stylized as government portals and information resources of Ukrainian banks and payment services) and deceiving citizens, criminals tried to gain access to their personal data, information about their payment instruments, financial phone numbers and account funds.
Therefore, improving the knowledge and skills of citizens in this area will give them the opportunity to use cashless payments more carefully and protect themselves from fraudulent schemes and traps in the virtual space.
"Almost a quarter of users of financial services (26%) have encountered attempts at payment fraud, in particular, 3% of them have lost money. It is clear that more active consumers, who use the Internet, internet banking more often, buy online, are more likely to fall into the field of view of fraudsters Therefore, everyone, even experienced users, should improve their knowledge of cyber security. In particular, it is imperative to increase personal cyber awareness regarding account security rules, moderate use of public Wi-Fi, and analysis of unfamiliar resources for making purchases. Thanks to this campaign, the National Bank, together with its partners, will raise the awareness of Ukrainians in order to continue to form a safe culture of social behavior in the virtual space," said Deputy Chairman of the NBU Oleksiy Shaban.
"The cyber security of our country is not only the security of state information resources, systems and databases. Although most cyberattacks now have a political, or rather military-political component, the activities of financially motivated hackers continue to pose a threat. Therefore, we must continue to work on increasing the awareness of all Ukrainian citizens about how to protect themselves from the activities of cyber-swindlers who seek to steal your data and, as a result, funds," stressed the Head of SSSCIP Yuriy Myronenko.
"The results of a nationwide representative survey of the population, conducted with the support of the USAID Project "Investments for Business Sustainability", showed that more than a quarter of users of financial services at least once encountered attempts at payment fraud, and some were affected by it. A large share of them are active consumers who more often use online stores, paid online services and remote banking. The rapid development of technology contributes to the spread of fraud, especially against the background of war, and makes it difficult to detect it. Therefore, measures to increase the public's awareness of payment security, relevant informational and educational campaigns should be regular and nationwide. Our Project was happy to support the survey and the NBU's campaign against payment fraud #КібербезпекаФінансів," said Yuliya Vitka, acting head of the USAID Project "Investments for Business Sustainability".
During the campaign, the National Bank, together with its partners, will explain to consumers of financial services the basic elements of cyber security regarding the following issues:
- how to protect your accounts, computers, smartphones and other devices from external interference;
- how to create complex and unique passwords,
- how to configure multi-factor authentication;
- how to check sites where users enter their payment details and files, mobile apps and other programs before downloading;
- how to properly use public and home Wi-Fi networks;
- how to take care of software on own devices and other rules of safe behavior in virtual space.
The information campaign will continue until the end of September 2024 in all regions of Ukraine. As part of the campaign, the National Bank launches a special web page (landing) "Cybersecurity of Finances" with detailed information about the campaign and rules of conduct in the virtual space.
