Last year, Virke, the leading trade and service sector organization, estimated this between NOK 128 and 129 billion it was used by Norwegian customers for Christmas shopping.
At the time of writing, Christmas is just under two months away and many are still shopping for Christmas presents. This is also a time when you are at risk of being digitally scammed, according to Ingrid Grav, the fraud hunter at Danske Bank.
One of the methods of fraud, the so-called Internet phishing, involves asking people to pay a small amount, perhaps as little as NOK 20, to pay for shipping a product. 40% of all phishing cases Danske Bank had last year were reported in November and December.
This is “phishing”
Phishing, or so-called online fishing, is a term for fraud in which perpetrators attempt to trick you into providing sensitive information such as passwords, Pin number or payment card information.
In a typical example of phishing, scammers send an email that appears to come from a service the victim uses, stating that suspicious activity has been detected on the customer’s account.
The customer is then encouraged to access the service via an attached link, in order to resolve the issue. However, the link to the service is fake and instead directs the user to a website controlled by scammers.
The website will be a copy of the official website and graphic profile of the service, but logs and stores the login information entered by the user. To prevent the fraud from being detected, the victim is often directed to the real website.
That factor authentication it makes it more difficult for scammers to exploit information obtained this way.
Source: Great Norwegian encyclopedia
Apparently the sender is a well-known brand, like Spotify or Netflix. In reality, someone with dishonest intentions is behind it.
– When you click on the link, a completely different payment is set up and you confirm it with BankID. Maybe you don’t see, or you don’t get the amount, and the sum is higher than imagined, Grav tells Nettavisen.
Grav’s appeal to Norwegian consumers is now crystal clear:
– Do not provide personal information through links and be critical of what you use BankID to approve. It’s an electronic signature, and the increased use of BankIDs is one of the reasons phishing has gotten so much bigger in recent years.
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– You should do it as soon as possible
It’s not just as a buyer of goods and services that you risk being scammed, according to Ingrid Grav.
You can also be deceived if you plan to sell something yourself.
– The buyer states that the seller must click a link, for example, to pay for shipping, for the item to change ownership, or to receive money for the purchase. Then you’re asked to verify yourself with BankID, and the money ends up flowing out of the vendor’s card, says Grav.
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If you have fallen into the trap and been scammed, Danske Bank has clear instructions on what you should do.
It is therefore important to act quickly.
– You should do it as soon as possible. Money is forwarded quickly, so the sooner you contact your bank, the better.
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Several warn against fraud
Recently, several major players have warned against fraud.
Among them is, for example, Sparebank1 Østlandet, which recently became misused in two frauds in Innlandet County.
– We take it seriously. It is one of several different fraud methods that scammers try. They are not only abusing us, but also the police, other banks and the Swedish tax agency, chief information officer Bjørnar Mickelson told Nettavisen at the time.
Also Posten Norge has been aroundrt against fraud during the Christmas period.
– Fraudsters develop their methods quickly and the old advice is not as good as it once was. We now experience good language and sender addresses can be easily forged, so it can give a false sense of security to rely on this, Tore Orderløkken, director of information security at Posten, previously said.
The order cycle also pointed out that Posten will never send you links where you have to enter personal information or send you to a payment page.
– Always get secure information through our channels such as the Posten app, Digipost or our websites.
