Fraudsters change tactic following bank warning

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Fraudsters targeting local residents with a new smishing attack using bank brands have changed their tactic after NatWest International issued a warning to islanders urging them to take precautions if they received a suspicious message.

While the first message invited recipients to call a fake Fraud Prevention Number, the new one ask them to log in to their computers and find a screen sharing programme which allows the fraudsters to take control of the victim's computer and access their online banking.

One of the software islanders are being asked to look for is PView13. Once they log on to the software, the screen goes black allowing fraudsters to access their online banking.

The previous attack used a fake text message which appears to come from a bank and looks genuine. It asks the recipient to urgently call a Fraud Prevention Number about a recent purchase that’s been made on their account, but instead puts them through to a fake call centre. The unwitting victim is then asked to provide personal account details allowing the fraudsters to commit a crime against them.

The fake text messages can appear within the same message thread as a genuine text message from NatWest International, making them difficult to spot. NatWest International is advising anyone who’s received any suspicious message to take the following precautions:

• check the number you’re being asked to call. Only ever call the bank on a known or published number (such as on the website, the telephone directory or on a bank statement). Never call back on a number contained within a text message.

• Never use your card reader when logging into your online banking account, or over the phone
• If you’ve responded to a message like this, you should contact the bank immediately using published numbers

• Recipients of fraudulent messages can help by sending a copy to the banks dedicated Smishing number: 07860 009 378

After hearing of the new attack, NatWest added: "We would never ask for your card reader code, customer number, pin or password so please make sure not to divulge these numbers."

Steve Wakelin, Managing Director of Personal and Business Banking for NatWest International, commented: “NatWest International will never ask you for a card reader code over the phone. These are used for our customers’ security and should be kept secret. If you believe your account’s been compromised or you think you’ve given away your secret information, please get in touch with us soon as possible using only our published numbers.”

Another message, purporting to be from Barclays International, has also been sent to islanders this week. The Police shared a screenshot of the message which asks the recipient to contact the bank following a purchase on Amazon. The Police urged islanders not to reply to the text and to simply delete it.

Over the festive period, similar text messages led fraudsters to scam islanders out of over £217,000, with £180,000 gone in just 24 hours.