Security and data protection
Protect your finances against fraudsters and thieves on the internet and beyond.
How to fight fraud
Learn to recognise the most common tricks fraudsters are using these days to steal your savings.
You must certainly get an occasional call on your mobile phone from an unknown number. Perhaps you do not take such a call for fear that it could be a scammer. But what if it is us, your bank calling you? From now on, you will always know that we are calling you thanks to notifications from George.
You must certainly get an occasional call on your mobile phone from an unknown number. Perhaps you do not take such a call for fear that it could be a scammer. But what if it is us, your bank calling you? From now on, you will always know that we are calling you thanks to notifications from George.
Whenever anyone calls you from Česká spořitelna, a push notification will appear on your mobile phone screen, or in its notification centre, or if you want – a notification with information that it is us. You can be certain that the number you see on the display is ours.
So that you can receive a notification from George, you need:
- George in your mobile,
- permission for push notifications, at least those from George,
- to be on wi-fi or on data. Simply speaking be online.
You must certainly know about scams where the main role is played by a fake banker. The scammer calls someone and pretends to be an employee of his bank. He tells the callee that his account has been hacked and that the callee needs to take action immediately to protect his money. He tries to convince his potential victim to send the money to an allegedly secure account which he offers the callee. If a panic-stricken person agrees to do so, he will lose his money. But it does not take much - to promptly detect that the thief is just pretending to be a bank employee. A push notification from George can do this. More precisely – it can do this as you will not receive the notification.
If someone introduces himself as a Česká spořitelna banker, but you have not noticed any notification, be vigilant. Fortunately, in such a case you can verify the identity of the caller in a different way. Just ask him to verify his identity via George. If it really is one of us:
- he will send you a one-time four digit number code to the George app.
- you will look into the app and ask the caller to read out the code to you.
- if he does this and the code is a match, you will be speaking with a Česká spořitelna employee.
If the caller objects that the verification is not working in George, or does not know how to send it to you, do not continue with the call and hang up. Most likely it will be a scammer. But to make sure that you have not hung up on our banker, you can call him back via George, or call line 277 207 207. If the call is from us, our colleagues will let you know immediately.
Call us even if you are targeted by a scam call, which you detect in time yourself. Let us know if the caller claims to be from the Czech National Bank, Czech Banking Association or from the Police of the Czech Republic, or any other institution and wants to save your account. Such information is important to us. It helps us in the fight against rogues.
See what a notification from George can look like when Česká spořitelna is calling you. The form of the notification may differ depending on the operating system and the type of phone you have.
Normally the first months of a year is the time when you receive bills for how much heating and energy you have used over the winter. It is also a time when you settle your taxes.
All this presents scammers with an opportunity − they send scam SMS or emails in which they attempt to induce you into refunding overpayments.
The ultimate goal of scam messages, also known as phishing, is: to direct you to a fake website and scam you for your internet banking login details, important card numbers or passwords for various websites such as Netflix.
What is typical of a scam message, whether this is an SMS or email?
Scammers still use the same proven “tricks” and just update them depending on the situation:
- They often pretend to be well-known companies or state institutions (such as ČEZ, Česká pošta, portál MOJE daně etc.).
- They falsely urge you to complete data or require some other action from you (e.g. update personal data, collect an overpayment, additional tax or transport duty, etc.).
- They send a link directing you to a fake website. You receive an instruction to immediately enter your banking login details or all the numbers on your payment cards.
Scammers also often combine their methods. Firstly you may receive an SMS or email and then you can get a call such as from a bank employee that your account has been hacked. Read about what scam they are trying to use right now.
How to recognise a fake message?
- Check the sender: Always focus on who sent you the message. If you are unsure about anything, do not reply.
- Watch out for links: Always only log into internet banking, business client zones or websites of authorities only from the official website of the institution concerned, not by using a random link from browsers, an SMS or from an email.
- Look through the web address carefully: Fake websites appear to look legitimate, but they may contain small differences such as missing letters or typing errors. Always verify the web address before you click on the link.
- Fake demands: These fake messages are characterised by the fact that the other party is putting pressure on you. When scammers stress you out, they have a better chance of making you do what they want without thinking.
- Unsolicited requests (spam) for information: Stop and think. Are you expecting a message from the institution concerned? Is it normal for it to send you a refund this way?
Remember: No real institution will ever demand all the numbers on a card or George login details from you for a money refund. If they do refund you money, they just need the account number.
The best defence is vigilance. If you have any doubts, do not reply to the message, do not click on anything and verify the information on the official website of the institution or company concerned.
Have you received a scam SMS, email or have you come across some other fake message? Let us know. Send suspicious emails, SMS, chats or call recordings to our special email box podvody@csas.cz.
Have you been scammed by someone? Or do you suspect that someone has tried to scam you? Use the first aid of Česká spořitelna.
Scam calls are constantly on the rise. Fake bankers, advisors and others attempt to gain your trust, but they are always just interested in your money. How can you protect yourself effectively?
How you can immediately tell it is scammer:
- He wants either to gain access details to your George from you, permission for remote access to your computer or that you send money to a “secure” account, or place it in a “secure” ATM.
- Fake banker: “Your account has been hacked, so we must block it immediately to save your money. Give us your banking access details…”
- Fake investment advisor:
“We will require remote access to your computer for a daily overview of your investments... So, we can credit your account with money from investments we require access details to your internet banking.”
The bank, police or an investment company will never ask you for access to your banking or passwords. It does not require these details even to save your money! None of these institutions will want you to send or place money in “secure” accounts or ATMs. This is always what a scammer will do!
How to verify that you are speaking to a banker or employee of Česká spořitelna:
- If it is a “banker” that is calling, ask him to verify his identity using George. If he refuses, he is probably a scammer.
- If you are not sure that you are speaking to a bank employee, end the call and use our NON-STOP helpline 800 207 207.
- Never share your details with anyone over the phone. Always use George to communicate with your banker.
Tips on how to verify companies, institutions, and state entities:
- Visit the official website of the given company and verify the information that is there. Or call the company’s official number. Do not verify information using the phone number/e-mail given to you by this stranger in an SMS or dictated over the phone. Do not call back on the number from which the potential scammer called you. Although it may look like the official number of an institution it could be a fake. Always newly enter and dial the number on your phone.
- Search for reviews of the company and the given phone numbers on the internet in several places and do not just rely on the website of the specific company. The more ratings you find the better.
- Stop and think. Why would anyone give a lot of money for little work? Would the given institution behave this way? How would you behave in the physical world – would you give the key to your home or your savings to a person you don’t know? What exactly do you know about the counterparty?
- Ask your close persons for advice.
Do you want to learn more about scams? Follow our Security and Data Protection website.
Tip: Have you been scammed? Do you suspect an attempted scam? Use the first aid of Česká spořitelna.
Everything began with a purchase made in an e-shop
The story of Mrs Iveta began in a totally innocent way. She was attracted by discounts on one e-shop so she made a purchase. After having paid for the goods, it occurred to her to look at some reviews where she discovered that probably the e-shop was not reliable. The reviews were bad, some saying that the e-shop was untrustworthy. She very quickly realised that she had most likely just lost her money therefore to be sure she blocked her card and asked for a new one. She felt relieved. Because of her carelessness she had lost a couple of hundred crowns, but at least it had occurred to her in time to block her card.
Fake investment advisors are coming up with more and more sophisticated ways to lure you into high valuations in the form of investments in cryptocurrencies or shares of large companies such as ČEZ or Agrofert.
What is new is the attempt to persuade you not to tell the real reason for the transaction when contacting your own bank, so that the bank cannot warn you of the danger in time. So be careful.
How does the scam work?
- An advertisement on the internet or a fake advisor over the phone offers a bargain on buying shares or cryptocurrencies.
- They can abuse the names of well-known personalities or companies (e.g. recently names such as Petr Pavel, Petr Fiala, Leoš Mareš, ČEZ, Agrofert and others were abused).
- They try to convince you to start putting money into an investment account, or they offer you help straight away via a program or app that you have to download onto your device. In fact, they get remote access to control your bank account.
- They will warn you that the bank will try to stop the payment. They will force you to hide these investments from your bank, deny the true reason for the transaction and invent another, and give a false description of the purpose of the payment (e.g. vacation, etc.). The goal is to prevent the bank from blocking the fraudulent transaction in time to save your money.
How can you protect yourself?
- Check who you are communicating with.
- Don't share your account access and passwords or any card numbers with anyone.
- Do not install programs/apps based on a phone call.
- Be careful what you confirm and to whom.
It’s your money, be cautious, take your time and verify. If you suspect a scam, call us at +420 800 207 207. For more on the topic of fake investments, please visit our website. And remember, you can invest safely in George or speak to a banker at one of our branches.
Remote access to your computer
Fake merchants
Phishing
CEO fraud
Payment card phishing
‘Nigerian’ scams
Vishing<br>
Family fraud<br>
Skimming<br>
Fraudulent Invoices<br>
Straw Man
Ransomware
Malicious software (malware)
Security guidelines and recommendations<br>
Safely Downloading Mobile Apps
Minimize the risk of misuse of the George Key application
following simple rules.
How to Use Your Payment Card Securely
Protect your credit card from misuse.
Using Payment Cards with PKI Certification Securely
Protect your certificate card (PKI) from misuse.
Glossary
You will have certainly heard of phishing, skimming and scams, but do you know exactly what they mean? Here’s a look at the tricks used by fraudsters.
<b>Antivirus program </b>
<b>Banking IDentity</b>
<b>CEO fraud</b>
<b>Family fraud</b>
<b>Free Trial</b>
<b>Cryptocurrency</b>
<b>Malware</b>
<b>Operating system </b>
<b>Personal firewalls </b>
<b>Phishing</b>
<b>Skimming</b>
<b>Software</b>
<b>Spam</b>
<b>Vishing<br> (or voice phishing)</b>
<b>Remote access </b>
What should you do if you become a victim of fraud?
First of all, don’t feel foolish. Fraudsters use clever and convincing tricks that even IT experts can fall for.
However, it is important to act quickly.
- Call us via George or call line 277 207 207 (+420 956 777 956 if calling from abroad) immediately and tell us what information you have disclosed (internet banking security details, card details, etc.).
- Request cancellation of the unauthorised transactions (unfortunately, this is not always possible)
- Report the incident to the Czech Police
- Change your internet banking security details
- Forward suspicious emails to phishing@csas.cz