A1 is warning about fraud attempts using banking and financial applications

The active development of various banking applications and financial services attracts the attention of fraudsters, primarily interested in the opportunity of appropriating other people's funds. Despite the constant development of security methods and safety features, scammers continue to improve their techniques and skills.

The company experts have detected scammers' attempts to mislead users of financial applications through calls via instant messengers in order to gain access to their data and accounts. Stay vigilant and focus the attention of your family, friends and acquaintances on the fact that A1 employees never call via instant messengers or demand for any applications to be installed. They do not require user's authorization code and would never ask you to transfer funds to third party accounts. If you receive a call or message from an unfamiliar number in any messenger, even if the caller ID has the company logo, we recommend that you ignore the said call/message.

Incoming calls in instant messengers can be visually similar to regular landline calls or calls from a mobile number, so you should be especially cautious with numbers, as well as channels the call comes through. To prevent such calls, it is recommended to set a restriction on receiving calls from unknown numbers in the messenger settings (if such options are available), leaving an option to receive calls from numbers from your contact list only. It is also important to set up two-factor authentication to avoid third parties logging into your messenger account.

In some cases, the scammers also try to gain access to your A1 banking information, user's Personal Account, or allege that the subscriber's number is blocked and they need to take a number of actions to restore your access to it.

The official incoming numbers of A1 are listed below:

• Dial numbers "150" and "+375296000150" are used for canvas calling (in response to a client's request, as well as to offer some company services, including automatic call-downs) via mobile communications;
• SMS and Viber messages from alphanumeric numbers A1 (A1, A1 banking, VOKA, 150) are used for mass texting;
• Numbers in the format of "411хх" (41101, 41141, etc.) are reserved for interactive SMS campaigns.

For the purpose of fraud prevention, we suggest learning about the types of fraud, which can be found in a dedicated section on the A1 website and follow a number of simple recommendations:

• Even if the conversation seems feasible to you, do not tell the caller any confidential information, such as your passport identification number, card number, CVV or SMS code, contract number or other personal information;
• If you are given another phone number and asked to call it, ignore this offer;
• If you are advised to install any third-party applications on your smartphone, ignore this offer;
• Be especially vigilant if the call or message has an urgent or threatening tone. For example, saying you need to respond urgently, or your account will be blocked. It is used to force you to panic and provide the required information;
• If the caller managed to obtain your bank card details or other personal data, resulting in theft of funds and other illegal actions, contact law enforcement agencies immediately by dialing 102.

Stay alert and be careful!