Phishing is a scamming method which uses different approaches, such as emails, text messages, phone calls or manipulating search engines (such as Google or Bing), to trick the customer into entering their personal online banking or payment card details into websites created by the scammers, or stating them over the phone. The scammers use this information to make purchases or transfers from the customer’s bank account.

Scammers create a duplicate of an online banking or e-store website, which usually looks very similar to the original. Afterwards, the link to this fake website is shared via email, text message or in internet search results. Emails and texts are usually sent as if from the bank, asking you to click on the link to, for example, view an important message, block an outgoing payment, or change your login details.

There are cases when the scammer submits an advertisement to a search engine (like Google or Bing)  so that it appears as the first search result. The user clicks on the advertisement, which has a fake link, and is forwarded to a phishing site which looks identical to the original service provider’s website.

Fraudsters also impersonate state institutions, companies, or portals, such as the State Revenue Service (SRS), 'Latvijas Pasts,' or the justice portal elieta.lv. When recipients receive fake text messages or emails, they are invited to click on a link provided in the message or email. The purpose of these messages is to claim overpaid taxes, to do customs clearance, or view documents supposedly related to legal proceedings. Clicking on the link redirects the person to a phishing website where they are asked to enter their internet banking access data. This information is then used to defraud financial resources, acquire various loans, and make purchases in instalments.

Fraudsters also obtain the necessary data to activate Google Pay and Apple Pay payment methods. Pretending to represent a legitimate state institution, company, or portal, fraudsters invite individuals to click on a link under the pretext of receiving, for instance, an undelivered package. Upon opening the fraudulent link, users encounter fields where they are prompted to input their card details and activation code for Google Pay or Apple Pay. This misleading process grants fraudsters the opportunity to link your payment card with their device's Google Pay or Apple Pay wallet, enabling them to carry out unauthorized transactions.

Scammers pretend to be investment brokers or bank employees and offer to make particularly great-value investments in shares, bonds, cryptocurrencies or elsewhere. They ask you to install a programme (like Anydesk, among others) in order to make investments, or simply ask you to transfer money to their account. These scammers often create websites where the victim can track their “growing profits,” as false success encourages the victims to invest more and more.

So far, all cases of investment scams follow the pattern of the victim receiving a phone call notifying them of the “opportunity of the century” to invest and make a profit. The person offering the investment usually speaks Russian, although more have been speaking Latvian lately. The phone numbers they contact are chosen at random, or taken from an illegally-sourced database. The victims of these scams are often older people, and often people take out payday loans or even try to take out bank loans for the investment opportunity.

Scammers will post a loan offer on social media with a very good interest rate. To apply for the loan, they will ask the victim to give them their online banking access details or payment card information, under the pretence that this is necessary for evaluating the victim’s creditworthiness or verifying their identity. Loan fraud is also often committed without access to online banking or card details, because the victims themselves transfer money to the scammers’  account. In this case, the scammers will ask the victim to make various payments in order to process the loan, for example, as a contract processing fee or loan insurance payment, or as a deposit for the loan. These transfers are most often made to a private individual’s overseas bank account, rather than to a business.

Fake lotteries put on by scammers pretending to be well-known organisations or businesses have not gone anywhere. For example, a person is notified that they are the lucky winner, and in order to receive their prize, they must verify their identity by making a symbolic bank transfer. In any case, you must first check whether a specific lottery has a permit number and is registered in Latvia; if in doubt, it is worth contacting the Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection. You should be particularly careful if you are asked to prove your identity by making a payment as per the company’s terms and conditions - this is probably a scam.

Using direct communications online and fake profiles, scammers often use moving, dramatic stories and requests claiming to be from people needing financial support, thus convincing people to transfer money and help those in need.

Our customers receive calls mostly in Russian claiming to be from the police, bank or some state institution (for example, The Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia, the Bank of Latvia). The caller informins them of a suspicious transaction in their account, a loan taken out in their name, or about suspicious transactions with cryptocurrencies. Sometimes another person will join the call, or the customer will receive a second call, claiming to be a bank employee and confirming what the fake police employee is saying. They will then ask the customer to complete actions using Smart ID, MobileSCAN, or to give online banking login or card details.

Sometimes scammers ask to install software (such as Anydesk) to supposedly do an investigation. With the help of this software, fraudsters remotely connect to the customer's computer, ask to show the online bank or show websites where the customer allegedly performed some actions.

When receiving such calls, immediately stop the conversation and contact your bank!

Fake prepayment scams are also currently popular. Scammers offer a product on social media or through selling websites, and ask the buyer for advance payment, but do not deliver the product. These types of scams work well for products which people are in need of, like wood pellets, briquettes and firewood, and are offered at a particularly good price. The victim, wanting to save money, replies to the offer and is caught out by the scammers. Fake prepayments are similar to fake invoices, which are issued in the name of a company. This company may really exist, but the company’s true bank account details are replaced with the scammer’s details.

Fake job offer scams are still active. Scammers will pretend to be bank employees, call and offer a job based on advertisements posted by those looking for work. To pretend to verify your identity, the caller asks you to open a bank account and pass on your online banking login details. We have also identified a scheme where the scammers call the victim via video call and ask them to show their ID documents to the camera. In this manner, the scammers gain access to the victim’s information, and the account is used as a transit account to transfer money scammed from other people, while passport information is used to apply for loans etc. You must be careful when posting job-seeking advertisements. Remember that your account access data should be known only by you, and bank employees will never ask for it.
 

Scammers search for victims on online dating sites, social media or by email. After faking their identity and creating a connection, after a while the scammer begins to ask for help, for example, in an emergency situation, for plane tickets to visit their “lover”, to cover moving costs, to cover medical costs for a worsening health condition, and other excuses for why they need money.

Scams aimed at sellers, rather than buyers, are also becoming popular. In these cases, rather than posing as a seller, the scammer pretends to be a buyer and contacts the seller about purchasing a product via courier. Typically, the scammer sends a link to a website pretending to be from a legitimate courier, like DPD or Omniva, which asks the recipient to enter their card details. In this case, you must pay attention to where the link takes you, check the web address, and think critically about the amount and type of information requested of you. We also recommend that sellers organise their own delivery, rather than clicking on links sent by strangers. We recommend that both buyers and sellers use trusted delivery services and look sceptically at unfamiliar services, checking whether they truly exist, reading reviews etc.