Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Central Bank of Russia –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
There is no silver bullet to combat scammers.
Telephone fraud has become one of the main social problems. To defeat this infection, the Central Bank has come up with a whole range of measures. Some of them have already come into force, and some will start working in the coming days.
What is this antidote? How effective will it be? Why do banks sometimes block cards of those who have nothing to do with it? How does the Central Bank fight against banks imposing additional services? Mikhail Mamuta, head of the Service for the Protection of Consumer Rights and Ensuring the Availability of Financial Services of the Bank of Russia, told Komsomolskaya Pravda about this.
One hand insures the other
— Several measures aimed at combating telephone scammers will come into effect on September 1. One of them is the “second-hand service.” Tell us what it is and how it will work?
— Everyone encounters attempts at social engineering. And we try to invent an antidote that is adequate to the risk.
The standard algorithm of scammers is this: they try to turn off the victim's critical thinking, switch to fear and other strong emotions. And while a person is in this state, he cannot perceive reasonable and logical arguments. He acts under the influence of the scenario that was given to him. But if something brings him out of this state – and this can be any contact with a close person – then this influence will disappear.
— Fraudsters often ask victims to go to a secluded place or demand that they sign a “non-disclosure document”…
— Exactly. We want to break this connection. From September 1, anyone will be able to appoint a relative or close friend as their assistant. To do this, you need to contact the bank, sign an agreement, and indicate the person you trust. And this person will have the right to confirm or reject banking transactions if they seem unusual to them.
There are two key words here – "confirm" and "unusual". That is, the assistant does NOT have the right to manage the account. He will not know how much money is there, he will not be able to carry out transactions himself. But if something unusual happens, the assistant will receive a notification.
— What are the criteria for “unusualness”?
— They can be specified in the agreement with the bank: what transactions and from what amount will need to be confirmed. For example, transfers of 100 thousand rubles to an unknown recipient's account. In this case, the assistant will receive a notification about this and will be able to reject or approve the transaction. The assistant will have up to 12 hours to sort out the situation. He will be able to contact the ward and make sure that he is not being deceived by fraudsters.
— And if the assistant is on vacation or for other reasons cannot see the notification…
— If during this time the bank still does not receive the consent of the “second hand”, it will simply not transfer the money or will not issue cash.
— Will it be possible to disable this service?
– Of course. He who gave, took away. This is the client's right. True, for this you will need to contact the bank again and write a statement. But the disconnection itself will not happen immediately, but the next day.
— Will the authorized person find out about this? Otherwise, the scammers will first ask the hypothetical pensioner to refuse the service, and only then will they start carrying out “unusual” operations…
— Yes, this can also be specified among the criteria. It is important to understand that any measure does not reduce the risk to zero. There is no silver bullet in principle. The fight against fraudsters is always a set of different tools.
Cooling of borrowers
— Then let's talk about another measure — the cooling-off period for issuing loans. It also comes into force on September 1. How will this measure work?
– It's very simple. The borrower will not receive the money instantly, but after a certain period of time. It depends on the amount.
Here we pursue two goals. Firstly, if a loan is issued under the influence of fraudsters, the cooling-off period will give a person the opportunity to consult with relatives and friends, to understand that he is being deceived. Secondly, people often take loans and credits under the influence of emotions. The cooling-off period will allow you to refuse unnecessary debts in time. During the respite, a person will be able to think – do they really need this loan – and make a balanced decision.
— What types of loans will not be “cooled”?
— Firstly, small ones — up to 50 thousand roubles. Secondly, all targeted loans — for refinancing, paying for education, buying real estate or a car in a car dealership. And thirdly, when a person personally requests a loan for a product or service in a store, clinic or other place. In these cases, the risk of fraud is minimal: the borrowed money immediately goes to the account of the seller, university or other creditor.
— What happens if a person refuses to take out a loan during this period?
– This will not be considered a refusal of the loan. It will not be issued yet. There will be no need to pay interest, or a fine, or return any amount.
Taking a breather for these 48 hours is very important. There are many cases when people with relatively low salaries managed to take out loans for several million rubles under the influence of scammers. If a person takes out loans in one day from several banks, the information does not have time to get to the credit bureaus. And then he gives all this money to the scammers. And is left with a gigantic debt.
— Very often, scammers can keep people in touch for several days and even weeks. 48 hours won’t help here…
— I repeat, no method provides 100% reliability. But, according to statistics, the more time passes from the moment a person falls under the influence of fraudsters, the more likely it is that he will break free from this “guardianship”. This also applies to the cooling-off period. But it cannot be made too long either. You have to find a balance between comfort and safety.
"Banks block 99% of fraudulent transactions"
— By the way, about comfort. Banks often play it safe. Sometimes they block cards of elderly people even when they try to withdraw small amounts of cash. You have to go to the bank branch and prove that you needed the money for yourself…
– You have to find a balance here. On the one hand, you can save nine people, and the tenth will suffer because you have restricted him too much. But if you hadn't saved those nine people, it would have been much worse.
But this situation is dynamic, it depends on the external environment. Now the risk of fraud is very high. Therefore, the measures are serious and multifactorial. The situation will change for the better – the measures will change too. Now banks block 99% of fraudulent transactions. Imagine if this figure was lower and banks prevented only 80% of transactions?! The losses would be many times greater.
— What is generally considered a suspicious transaction?
— Payment cards and online banking of droppers (accomplices of fraudsters who provide their cards to transfer victims' money through them, — Ed.), information about which was received in our database from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, are blocked in 100% of cases. Now cards and other electronic means of payment have become a "disposable tool" for fraudsters.
But sometimes banks suspend transfers or block cards of clients who have nothing to do with fraudulent schemes. This could be a transfer of a large sum using details that previously appeared in fraudulent schemes, or payment for a purchase on a suspicious website.
— Sometimes it happens that a person wants to withdraw money from his account (to buy a car, for example), but he is not allowed to do so…
— It is better for a client who has encountered a blockage to go to a bank office and sort out the situation than to lose their savings. This is also true for your example. People do not change cars every week, so they will definitely not have to deal with blockages often and go to bank offices often.
Yes, banks reinsure themselves, but not for their own sake, but for the sake of their clients. These are precautionary measures that help people not to lose their money.
— What should you do if the bank has blocked the card?
— You need to contact the bank and find out the reason for the blocking. The bank may request documents to confirm the legality of the transaction. If the person did not commit anything illegal, they will restore access to the card and account.
Don't impose, tie it up!
— Banks also do not always behave correctly towards clients. Sometimes they impose unnecessary services for which you have to overpay. Have you managed to eradicate this practice?
— The number of such violations is decreasing every year. The situation has become noticeably better. One of the reasons is that we have become stricter about monitoring this, conducting “test purchases”. And banks understand this. But it is too early to say that we have completely eradicated unfair practices. Since the beginning of the year, we have identified several cases of connecting paid services without the consent of clients, including in large banks. We worked with the violators — they eliminated bad practices and returned money to clients.
In addition, since 2024, financial institutions have been required to divide additional services into two groups. The first is those that affect the loan. For example, if you do not take out insurance, then the rate will be higher. But these services – telemedicine, online cinema, etc. – do not affect the loan. And these are necessarily two different applications (that is, two separate paper or electronic applications that the client must sign or refuse them, – Ed.).
— So, it’s not possible to refuse insurance when receiving a loan?
— There is a nuance here. You can refuse insurance, but the rate will be higher. This is possible. After all, the policy protects the bank from the risk of non-payment. If there is none, then the bank includes this risk in the rate. But there are insurances that do not affect anything at all, but they were sold to you along with the loan as mandatory. You can refuse them. That is, this process has become more transparent.
— Another law that will discipline non-financial organizations will come into force in the coming days. Will it work in a similar way?
— Yes, in order to better protect people, similar rules will apply to the sale of non-financial services. From September 1, car dealerships, telecom operators, stores, etc. will have to obtain written consent from customers for any additional services — on paper or electronically. Moreover, sellers are prohibited from putting marks of consent for additional services on behalf of customers in advance. If a company violates these rules, a person will be able to refuse unnecessary goods and services and return their cost within three days. Rospotrebnadzor will monitor the implementation of this law.
— Another problem that often occurred in banks was misselling. When, under the guise of a deposit, the client was sold something completely different (most often these were savings or investment life insurance policies, — Ed.)…
These practices have become much less common lately. Deposit rates were so high that there was no point in inventing anything. But we understand that after a possible reduction in rates, misselling may return. If we find that a bank is systematically selling something else under the guise of a deposit, we can completely prohibit such sales and demand that people return their money. This is a serious demotivator for violators.
Evgeny Belyakov, Komsomolskaya Pravda
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.