Banca Transilvania's recommendations to avoid online fraud attempts

Banca Transilvania comes with a series of recommendations for its customers to avoid online fraud attempts, amid the increase in the number of frauds both nationally and internationally. The objective of the people who initiate these attempts is to gain access to customers' money by obtaining personal data, such as login information in applications.

Misleading occurs through traps such as social media ads, fake emails or phone calls. An example of this would be online advertisements promising big gains from investments, recommended through fake video messages by stealing the identity of well-known people/people representing a company, without them having any connection to the subject.

Types of "trendy" fraud attempts

• Schedule Remote Access (such as Any Desk): People are phoned by malicious people to persuade them to install applications such as Any Desk on their phone. These give the bad guys access to all the data on your phone. 
• Spoofing: people are called from phone numbers that appear to be from the bank/other institution, with specific subjects (credit approval, for example) and ask for card details, which, once given, open up access to the money to the fraudsters.
• Deepfake: these are video posts on social media, featuring people - usually high-profile ones - recommending certain investments, without actually being involved in the topic.

BT recommendations for the security of your money and personal information:

• Do not disclose any access information to banking applications (user, password, one-time password, other credentials).
• Don't download any apps like Any Desk.
• I do not disclose my bank card details: name, number, expiry date, CVV2/CVC (three-digit number on the back of the card) and PIN. Do not enter your PIN on websites or disclose it over the phone. The website where you are going to enter your card details to make an online payment must be secure (the link must start with https).
• Critically analyse an incoming message. Avoid links that present quick ways to get rich or save money. If something is too good to be true, it probably is.
• Avoid accessing "investment opportunities" that come from strangers who present these opportunities to you by email, text or phone. These people may sound like they are from BT or other banks. Often you are asked to transfer money to access them.
• Pay attention to messages that appear to be from Banca Transilvania (or banks in general). We never ask for confidential data (card details, access password, PIN) - by phone, SMS, e-mail, etc.
• Avoid accessing links received from unknown sources (by email, SMS, social media, WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, etc.) and do not fill in your personal or bank details on these links. If you are suspicious about an offer, avoid accessing the materials and check the existence of the promotion or offer on an official communication channel of the company.
• If you have a suspicion that you are the victim of an incident, if you are a BT customer, contact the bank: contact@btrl.ro; 0264 30 80 28, and if you have been victimised, file a complaint with the Romanian Police and inform the National Cyber Security Directorate(alerts@dnsc.ro, 1911).

Extra-info
Where more details on the subject can be found:

• On the bank's website, on the Online Security page;
• On the BT Blog, in these articles:
  • If something is too good to be true... About deepfake
  • How to protect yourself from crypto-scam
  • Safety in apps, shopping and communication
  • Fake Facebook ads use BT brand