NFC Fraud: Virtual Cards Wipe Out Accounts

VTB reported an increase in cases of fraud involving virtual clones of banking cards during November and December. According to the bank, fraudsters are using harmful spy programs to carry out these schemes.

The scammers, posing as employees of cellular operators, contact customers and claim to need to extend service agreements. They then convince customers to install an application that is actually a spy program. This application allows the attackers to take control of the victim’s device, including accessing the camera, microphone, and NFC functionality.

Once the program is installed, customers are asked to either take a photo of their card or bring it close to their smartphone, and enter their PIN code. Using the spy program, the attackers activate NFC on the victim’s device and intercept the card data with a special application on the fraudster’s phone, as explained by VTB.

VTB mentioned that scammers come up with various excuses to install malicious software, such as fake antivirus updates or downloading a medical service application. The bank warned that these fraud attempts are becoming more sophisticated with multiple layers.

The bank advised customers to only download applications from mobile operators, trading platforms, medical services, and other companies from their official websites to avoid falling victim to such scams.

/Reports, release notes, official announcements.