A financial number is a mobile phone number that you specify when opening a bank account and which the bank associates with your account.
The financial number receives SMS messages about the flow of funds to the account, confirmation codes for transactions and informational messages from the bank. It is used when registering in online banking and to identify you when contacting the bank's contact center.
As you can see, this number is the key to accessing your finances, so fraudsters often prey on it, and it is important to know how not to fall into the trap of criminals.
Methods of stealing financial numbers
The first way is to steal your smartphone. If a simple password is set on your SIM card, an attacker will quickly gain access to your smartphone and, in the next step, to your online banking.
The second option is to appropriate your SIM card by using the service of a mobile operator to restore a SIM card.
To do this, a fraudster can pretend to be an employee of a mobile operator and, under various pretexts, ask you to name the code from the SMS message that was just received. After that, the scammer can log in to the operator's office, reissue the SIM card and start using your mobile number.
Another way to restore your SIM card is to call you from different phones and get you to call back to one of them, and top up your mobile account. Having information about the last incoming and outgoing calls and the date of the last top-up, fraudsters will be able to reissue the SIM card.
How to protect against fraud?
- Keep the received SMS codes secret.
- Set complex SIM PIN-codes and smartphone lock.
- Link your financial number to your passport or take out a contract service and turn off the remote SIM card reissuance service.
- Use a separate phone number for interacting with financial institutions and do not use it for social networks and registration on various sites.
- If you suspect fraudulent activity or lose your phone or SIM card, notify the bank immediately and block your cards and reissue the SIM card.
- Avoid dealing with scammers and follow the guidelines on how to shop safely online.
