Vishing (phone scams)
How this scam works
Scammers use phone scams, also known as vishing (voice phishing), to fish for personal information over the phone.
They try to be as convincing as possible to mislead you and steal your information, including your e-Banking credentials, in order to access your accounts and make fraudulent online transactions.
Their most common methods include:
- Pretending to be your partners or government employees. They claim to be accountants or agents acting on behalf of Alpha Bank or other organisations. Under the false pretence that they need your details to pay you a government benefit (e.g. Fuel Pass, Tourism-For-All Pass etc.), they ask for your personal information, including your e-Banking credentials and card numbers and PINs.
- Responding to an ad you have posted. They pretend to be interested in buying something you have made available for sale. They are persistent and nag you to share your personal details, including your e-Banking credentials and card numbers and PINs, under the pretence that they want to transfer the payment for the purchase right away.
- Expressing interest in hotel bookings, restaurant reservations etc. They are persistent and nag you to share your personal details, including your e-Banking credentials and card numbers and PINs, under the pretence that they want to transfer the payment right away to confirm the booking/reservation.
If you happened to share your credentials, you must contact us immediately on +302103260000. After listening to the recording, say “suspicion of fraud” and your call will be immediately directed to an Alpha Bank employee.
For fraud-related issues, our helpline is available 24/7.
How to protect yourself
Such phone scams usually have some telling characteristics.
Caller unknown
Calls are made from numbers unknown to you. You should avoid answering such calls, and under no circumstances should you give away your e-Banking credentials or your card PINs.
Misleading instructions
Scammers usually have a system to convince you to follow their instructions, under the pretence that money will be transferred to your account faster if you do. They practically prompt you to perform a series of actions so that they are able to steal your personal e-Banking credentials, actually resulting in you sending money to them, instead of receiving any. Under no circumstances should you follow their instructions.
Credentials
Most of the time, they will ask you to provide your e-Banking credentials, confirm a transaction via Push Notification or provide your card PINs. It goes without saying that you must never share this information with anyone.
Find out how to protect your credentials.