In the first seven months of this year, customers of four of Latvia's largest banks gave 10 million euros to fraudsters by confirming their transactions themselves. These are customers of Swedbank, SEB banka, Citadele and Luminor Bank. It is noteworthy that fraudsters' activity decreased in the summer, however, experts urge people to remain vigilant – criminals are developing new methods of deception. According to the Finance Latvia Association (FNA), 3,148 cases of telephone fraud were prevented in the first seven months of this year, which saved 3.3 million euros. However, in 3,001 cases, the fraudsters proved convincing and managed to trick people out of 6.1 million euros. Incidentally, July saw the lowest number of telephone frauds since August last year – 268. Banks are the most successful in protecting people from fictitious investment offers – 5,934 fraud attempts have been prevented since the beginning of the year, which saved 3.7 million euros. The number of investment scams carried out reached 1,854, as a result of which residents were defrauded of 3.1 million euros. According to FNA, the number of fraud cases carried out in July was 6% lower than in June and 42% lower than in May. Since the beginning of the year, banks have managed to prevent 51% of telephone scams, 76% of investment scams and 56% of other types of fraud. According to FNA Board Member Janis Brazovskis, the decrease in the number of telephone scams is a positive trend, people have become more careful and think more about their safety. However, residents and businesses must remain vigilant. In addition, it is necessary to continue educational work. FNA reminds that scammers are very skilled at lying and often impersonate representatives of banks, police, postal and government employees. They call, write text messages and send emails to call for immediate action, stating that it is very important and urgent. Fraudsters create a sense of anxiety and fear in potential victims, deceiving them into thinking that if they do not take action, they will be cheated out of all their money. As previously reported, telephone scammers have started using artificial intelligence. Now they can speak in the voices of your relatives and friends. Such calls create a false impression in the recipient that a loved one is experiencing difficulties, which undoubtedly increases the likelihood of becoming a victim. Reinis Pudans, Head of Internal Security Processes at Bite Latvija, reports that a certain client of the company recently received a call from an unknown number and the caller spoke in the voice of his friend. The friend’s voice, imitating artificial intelligence, said that he had gotten into an unpleasant situation with the police and urgently needed a large sum of money to resolve the situation. In case of doubt, FNA recommends contacting the institution or bank on whose behalf the scammer contacted, using only official contact information, or contacting a relative. FNA strongly recommends that financial managers and accountants pay special attention to such fraudulent attempts. As public awareness of fraud issues increases, more attention is being paid to businesses and people who have already been defrauded, FNA members say.
