​Banca Transilvania offers its customers a number of recommendations to avoid online fraud attempts, amid an increase in their number both nationally and internationally. The goal of the people who initiate these attempts is to gain access to customers’ money by obtaining personal data such as program login information.

Misleading occurs through FALLING STONES such as social media ads, fake emails or phone calls. An example of this would be online ads that promise high returns on investment, recommended by fake video messages that steal the identity of famous people/company representatives, without their relevance to the topic.

Types of “fashionable” fraud attempts

• Remote access programs (such as Any Desk): people are being called by criminals to convince them to install apps like Any Desk on their phones. They give criminals access to all the data on the phone.
• Phone call (spoofing): people are called from phone numbers purporting to belong to a bank/other institutions on specific topics (eg loan approval) and ask for card details which, once transferred, give criminals access to money.
• Deepfakes: are video messages broadcast on social media in which people appear – usually with a bad reputation – recommending certain investments without actually engaging in the topic.

BT’s advice on keeping your money and personal information safe:

• Do not disclose information about access to banking applications. (user, password, one-time password, other credentials).
• Do not download programs such as Any Desk.
• Do not disclose bank card details: name, number, expiration date, CVV2/CVC (three-digit number on the back of the card) or PIN code. Do not enter your PIN on websites or give it over the phone. The site where you are going to enter your card details to make an online payment must be secure (the link must start with https).
• Critically analyze the received message. Avoid clicking on get-rich-quick or money-saving links. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Avoid accessing “investment opportunities” that come from unknown persons who provide you with these opportunities by email, SMS or phone. These people may sound like they are from BT or other banks. Many times you are asked to transfer sums of money to access them.
• Be wary of messages purporting to come from Banca Transilvania (or banks in general). We never ask for confidential data (card data, access password, PIN code) – by phone, SMS, e-mail, etc.
• Avoid clicking on links received from unknown sources (via email, SMS, social networks, WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, etc.) and do not enter your personal or bank details on these links. If you suspect an offer, avoid accessing these materials and check for a promotion or offer on the company’s official communication channel.
• If you suspect that you have become a victim of an incident, if you are a BT customer, contact the bank: [email protected]; 0264 30 80 28, and if you have been harmed, send a complaint to the Romanian police and inform the National Directorate of Cyber ​​Security ([email protected], 1911).

Additional Information

Where you can consult more detailed information on the topic:

• On the bank’s website, on the Online Security page;
• On the BT blog in these articles:
• If something is too good to be true… About deepfakes
• How to protect yourself from crypto fraudsters
• Security in applications, purchases and communication
• Fake Facebook ad uses BT branding

​ The article is supported by Banca Transilvania