According to a report by RBC citing VTB Senior Vice President Nikita Chugunov, fraudsters in Russia have recently been targeting users of banking applications in a new scam. Chugunov, who heads the Digital Business Department, stated that in September 2024, around one in ten calls received from scammers through messengers were related to updating the banking application.
This fraudulent scheme has rapidly gained popularity, with the number of complaints from bank customers regarding such calls increasing sixfold in the first half of September. The scammers typically pose as bank employees and pressure the victim to urgently install the “correct version” of the banking application, threatening account and card blockage if refused.
Once the victim clicks on the link provided to download the supposedly updated application, their smartphone screen is immediately blocked. This allows the fraudsters to gain access to the user’s account within the application, enabling them to perform unauthorized transactions and withdraw money from the victim’s account.
To combat this type of scam, the bank advises individuals to end the conversation if the caller insists on updating the application, and to immediately contact the bank to temporarily block their account in order to prevent any potential theft of funds.