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HUB warns of fake SMS messages aimed at stealing personal and financial data

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The Croatian Banking Association (HUB) warned on Friday that there is an active campaign of identity theft via SMS, or false representation in the name of Croatian Post, aimed at stealing personal and financial data from bank clients for financial gain.

Attempts at fraud most often occur through SMS messages and fake websites, all accompanied by malicious, sophisticated, and credible use of the visual identity of Croatian Post, HUB notes.

The mentioned fake messages most often contain a false notification about the inability to deliver a package due to incomplete information, and such messages also offer a link that leads to malicious fraudulent services that often appear convincing, where potential victims are asked to enter sensitive data.

The goal of the criminals is to obtain secret data from bank clients such as usernames and passwords, token numbers and their one-time passwords for logging into the bank’s digital services, or to obtain secret card data – CVC/CVV numbers, in order to gain unauthorized access to the banking applications of potential victims and acquire unlawful financial benefits, HUB warns.

Delivery services never ask users for their bank card number via SMS

HUB has also provided citizens with several tips, including not clicking on links, attachments, or images received in SMS messages from unknown numbers without prior verification of the sender. They should also not respond to SMS messages requesting a PIN or password for digital banking or any other security credentials.

To recognize fake SMS messages, it is important to carefully check the accuracy of spelling and grammar and compare the sender’s address with previous real messages from the sender, and in case of suspicion of fraud, immediately inform their bank and the police.

Among other things, HUB emphasizes that PINs, tokens, passwords, card control numbers, and other identification and authentication codes are secret data and should only be known to the owner and can only be used in verified and secure places.

At the same time, HUB notes that delivery services never ask users for their bank card number via SMS.

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