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.
A message from a person close to you, a friend or an acquaintance asking for a loan is what a new scam currently spreading on the messaging app WhatsApp looks like. Be careful and do not lend money to anyone unless you have spoken to them in person.
How does the scam work?
You receive a message on WhatsApp from one of your contacts. It is not from an unknown number, as is sometimes the case with scams. The message appears to come from someone you know well and likely communicate with frequently via the app — a friend, colleague, or family member.
The person asks you for a loan and sends you a bank account number to which you should transfer the money. The conversation is likely to be free of errors and may seem very convincing.
However, once you send the money, it’s gone. In reality, none of your friends or relatives actually asked you for a loan. The messages were written by scammers who had gained access to the sender’s WhatsApp account and began messaging their contacts with a single aim — to steal their money.
How is it possible for scammers to gain access to WhatsApp accounts?
A loan request sent in the name of a known contact is only the second phase of the scam. It begins much earlier; in the first phase, the scammers are not trying to access money, but to gain access to people’s WhatsApp accounts — and through them, to their contact lists.
How does it work? A message arrives with a request to vote in a competition or survey, containing a link to cast your vote. The recipient clicks on the link and follows the instructions, which supposedly lead to successfully submitting a vote. In reality, however, this action allows the scammer to gain access to the recipient’s WhatsApp account. The scammer then begins messaging the person’s contacts in their name, asking for money.
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.
Scams have significantly increased since the beginning of the year. Fake bankers, investment advisors, and others try to gain your trust, but their real goal is always your money. How can you effectively protect yourself?
How scammers immediately reveal themselves:
They ask you to send money for super advantageous investments, allow remote access to your computer, take out a loan, or transfer money to a "safe" account, deposit it into a "safe" ATM, or even hand it over to a courier.
"Your account has been compromised, we need to block it immediately, but to save your money, you need to send it to a safe account..."
"To effectively help you set up investments, we will need remote access to your computer..."
How to Verify You're Speaking with a Banker or an Employee of Česká spořitelna:
If someone from Česká spořitelna calls you, you should see a notification "Volá Vám Česká spořitelna" on the display of your mobile phone. This way, you know it's us and not a scammer. Didn't see it? Verify the caller through George. If the caller is from Česká spořitelna, he will comply without issue.
If the caller refuses verification, end the call. You can verify if someone from us really called you by calling through George or at the line 277 207 207.
Never disclose your sensitive information over the phone unless you are sure who you are speaking with. Communicate with your banker through George whenever possible.
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.
Tip: Have you been scammed? Do you suspect an attempted scam?
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 277 207 207.
- 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 +420 277 207 207. 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
Family fraud
Skimming
Fraudulent Invoices
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