A fraud method that is becoming more and more widespread is “spoofing”. The method involves fraudsters contacting their victims via SMS or phone using fake phone numbers. Økokrim can now report that fraudsters have started pretending to be them, using employees’ names and numbers. Fredrik Lykken, who is head of prevention in Økokrim, is one of the employees who have been used in these fraud attempts. – I haven’t called you. Lykken is constantly being called by people who think it is him who has tried to contact them, when it has actually been a fraudster who has used his identity. – They call me and wonder what I want, and then I tell them that I haven’t called you. And then we quickly realize that here are people who have misused my identity, he says. He estimates that he has been called around 40 times in the last five days, which has led to unexpected overtime for Lykken. – I have to guide them, then. Because there are some who have actually spoken to fraudsters, and then it is very important to give them advice. Masters of manipulation “Spoofing” is not a new phenomenon, and according to Department Director for Prevention and Intelligence in Økokrim, Lone Charlotte Pettersen, it is unlikely to stop anytime soon. – We notice that there are more and more cases, says Pettersen, who can tell about many desperate victims. – They are afraid and worried. Something new is that the fraudsters use telephone numbers belonging to police employees. Økokrim believes that it is relatively easy to obtain the numbers of public employees, whether it is the police, the bank or other institutions. – They feed themselves from what they find on the open market, so to speak, says Lykken. He also states that most of the cases he has experience with are fraudsters who speak Norwegian, and in some cases Swedish. These are people who, according to Lykken, are good at social manipulation. They give you a time-critical issue by, for example, saying that you have money on the way out of the account and that they can help you if you provide your bank ID. This is how they gain access to your online bank. – When fear comes, you don’t think as rationally as when you have plenty of time. They then want you to transfer your money to a “security account”, which the scammers control. – They often mislead the victim himself into making the transfer. No one is hacking your account, so to speak. Økokrim informs that they are collaborating with the National Communications Authority (Nkom) and the telephone companies Telia and Telenor, where they are working to develop software to stop this type of fraud. – They report that they are stopping more and more in their technical preventive measures, says Pettersen. Lone Charlotte Pettersen sees that the fraudsters’ methods are becoming more and more advanced. Photo: Økokrim Precautions One of the most important pieces of advice that Økokrim gives is to never provide sensitive information such as passwords, social security numbers or bank details. – We will never ask you to do that, says Lykken. Another thing to watch out for is e-mails and SMSs that come from, for example, the Tax Administration or Digipost that contain links that lead to a website. This is a regular occurrence among those that Lykken has received on the thread recently. – They have then logged in through those SMSes and provided their personal information. And then it doesn’t take long before the fraudsters call and express that they know quite a bit about the person they are calling back. If, for example, you are unsure whether the person you are talking to is actually from the police, write down their name and call the switchboard to make sure that everything is correct. Finans Norge has launched the website svindel.no, where advice is shared on how to avoid being scammed. Published 10.07.2024, at 18.59
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Warns that fraudsters pretend to be Økokrim – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
