Guide to Safe Transactions on Digital Banking

Dear Valued Customers,

To heighten vigilance for citizens and customers, MSB warns of common fraudulent schemes to appropriate assets currently related to banking activities.

I. IMPERSONATION FRAUD, HIGH TECHNOLOGY

1. Impersonating competent State agencies: Scammers impersonate police officers, court officials, etc., notifying citizens that they are suspected of involvement in criminal rings such as money laundering, drug trafficking, or providing images of fake prosecution or arrest warrants. They use fake video calls in uniform to call the victim. The subjects demand the victim transfer a large sum of money to a designated account to verify the account, prove they are not involved, or to “rescue” a person being “kidnapped online.”

2. Tricking users into installing fake public service applications (containing malicious code): Scammers impersonate officials from state agencies (police, tax, insurance, electricity, etc.) and approach citizens with sufficient personal information to gain trust; from there, they request access to a strange link or the installation of a fake application containing malicious code to control and appropriate the assets in the customer’s account.

3. Impersonating relatives or friends to borrow money or request transfers: Scammers take control of social media accounts or create fake accounts of relatives or friends. Deepfake technology is used to make video calls to victims. The video features the face and voice of the person being impersonated, recreated by AI. Scammers create excuses such as technical issues to hang up the phone quickly, then send a message with an account number (which may match the impersonated person’s name) to request a money transfer.

4. Impersonating large enterprises: Scammers demand victims transfer money into accounts with names similar to those of large corporations or companies to pay bills, travel services, etc. After receiving the money, they will cut off contact and appropriate the funds.

5. Fraudulent bank SMS messages: Scammers send fake SMS messages under the bank’s brand name (in the same message thread as the bank’s real messages) containing fake links requesting users to access and enter card information or OTP codes to steal account access or install apps containing malicious code to control mobile devices.

6. Impersonating shippers or fake fanpages for famous hotels/tours: Scammers proactively contact and request customers to transfer money to pay membership fees or offer travel programs and tours at surprisingly low prices to deceive and appropriate hotel booking/travel tour deposits from customers.

II. INVESTMENT FRAUD, FINANCIAL SERVICES

7. Impersonating bank staff: Scammers use forged documents with bank seals to approach citizens in need of online loans or support for clearing bad debt information, requesting the subject to transfer a large sum of money to prove financial status, then appropriating it.

8. Exploiting affection and financial investment: Scammers create attractive and sophisticated fake social media profiles, proactively befriending and messaging to flirt with victims over a long period to build a trusting emotional relationship. Once the victim is “hooked,” the subject invites them to participate in financial, cryptocurrency, or virtual gold investments. Over time, the subject lures the victim to transfer small amounts to build trust; when the investment amount becomes large and the victim has no further capacity to invest, the subject cuts off contact and appropriates the assets.

Faced with increasingly sophisticated fraudulent schemes, the Bank recommends that Customers follow the Guide for Safe Digital Transactions below to ensure safety and secure account information:

MSB sincerely thanks Customers for your cooperation!

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