How do scammers steal money from cards? How to avoid becoming a victim

Money stored on a bank card, as is known, is under the control of the banking organization and, of course, the cardholder directly, and, as practice shows, in most cases the reason for unauthorized withdrawal of money from the card by unauthorized persons is the carelessness of the owners. According to Art. 9 of the Federal Law “On the National Payment System” in the Russian Federation, the banking organization must return the stolen money to the client, and only then conduct proceedings to consider all the circumstances of the loss. However, in reality, everything happens far from this - it is possible to return the money stolen from the card, but this will require a lot of effort and time.

How money is stolen from plastic cards: the main methods

Most often, the actions of criminals hunting for easy money are directly related to the theft of a plastic bank card. If this happens, the owner needs to react to the current situation as quickly as possible and report this to the issuing bank to block the card account. The more quickly the card holder acts, the more the attacker reduces the risk of conducting illegal financial transactions. Attackers use several methods to steal money:

1. They track the actions of the card owner and calculate the PIN code numbers at the time of cash withdrawal, then use their original methods of stealing the plastic card itself.
2. It is not uncommon for owners to store a plastic card and a PIN code together and write the PIN code on the card itself, which is undoubtedly an advantage for thieves and fraudsters.
3. In cases of theft of a plastic card, there is a high probability of payment at retail outlets through terminals that do not require personal identification in the form of a signature or entering a PIN code, which the attackers know for sure.
4. Illegal debiting of funds from a bank card is also possible if the card number and information indicated on the magnetic stripe (CVV code) fall into the hands of criminals. As a rule, such data is used to make purchases through online services.

Despite the current legislation requiring cardholders to be notified of any transactions with their card account, in some banks such a system does not work as quickly as it should be. First of all, these are SMS alerts, due to the fact that such a service is paid, many cardholders, trying to save on at least something, simply refuse to connect to it, thereby significantly increasing the risks of unauthorized access to the account and withdrawal of funds by unauthorized persons . In this case, the bank client will be able to find out that theft has occurred from his account only at the time of attempting to make a payment or cash withdrawal operation.

Composition of the crime for fraud with payment cards

Regarding the subjective side of fraud with plastic cards, we note that this is an intentional crime (direct intent). Moreover, despite the fact that the theft does not occur “from the pocket” of the victim, the criminal expects to satisfy his self-interest precisely at the expense of the card owner, and not the bank through which the funds are stolen.

The subject of this crime is a person over 16 years of age.

The object is, as in other parts of Chapter 21 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, social relations in the field of property rights. There is no consensus on the subject of the crime - in this case, the following are considered as such:

• cash;
• the cardholder's rights to stolen funds.

Perhaps the subject differs depending on what purpose the criminal pursued by misleading an employee of a bank or trade organization: for example, obtaining a loan for salary card holders clearly indicates that the subject was the rights of the real card owner.

IMPORTANT! The card can only be a payment card - debit or credit - but not a fuel or other discount program card that does not contain funds for theft.

The objective side is specific in comparison with other types of fraud - it is not the owner of the property who is misled by deception or abuse of trust, as usually happens in the “classic” fraud of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and an employee of a bank or trade organization. The composition is material, that is, the theft is recognized as committed after the criminal receives money or other property benefits and the fraudster has the opportunity to dispose of the stolen property.

How to return money stolen from a card: basic steps

If attackers took advantage of a suitable situation and stole a bank card from its owner, the latter must perform the following actions: 1. Within 24 hours after the incident, notify the issuing bank that issued the card by calling, sending an email, or, if possible, visiting a bank branch in person. . 2. Also, within 24 hours of receiving information about the theft, write a statement to the police. Upon notification of a disputed cash withdrawal, the banking organization must conduct an investigation to determine the place and time of the fraudulent transaction.

Important! The cardholder has the right to demand from the bank a response to his request in writing, confirming the completion of actions to block the card. If funds are withdrawn after the plastic carrier is blocked, employees of the banking organization will be responsible for this.

Important ! If the stolen card appears in a trade and retail network, the cardholder can send a claim to that store for violation of the rules of payment systems. In this case, the cashier did not verify the signature and did not require the buyer to provide a document certifying that the person belongs to this bank card.

The period for consideration of the application by the bank is from 30 to 60 working days. 3. The direct owner of the card must prove his non-involvement in the unauthorized transaction. At this stage, it is necessary to provide any facts, documents and witness statements to confirm your location at the time of withdrawal of cash by unauthorized persons. If the card holder was in another country at that moment, it is necessary to provide a foreign passport with no marks on crossing the border of that country. Please note that it will be very difficult to prove the illegality of a transaction if a stolen card was used as payment in an online store, and in practice it is almost impossible. Although in this case the cardholder has a chance to block the card, the main thing is to have time to debit funds from the account in advance. It will also be difficult to prove your non-involvement if funds were withdrawn from the card at an ATM by entering a PIN code. Most likely, the bank will refer to the fact that the transaction was carried out according to all the rules, and the client voluntarily provided the PIN code at the same time as transferring the card to a third party.

Important! In the event of unauthorized withdrawal of funds from a stolen bank card by reading data with a skimmer, the bank that owns this ATM is obliged to return the funds to the card owner.

4. If the bank refuses to return the stolen funds, and the investigation did not produce results, the card owner can safely file a claim in court. To obtain a positive court decision, the cardholder must provide evidence of his non-involvement in the unauthorized transaction and document the fact of timely contacting the bank with a request to block the card. Most often in practice, a lawsuit is based on an allegation of the fact that the bank provided a low-quality and unsafe service, in particular, not fully informing the client about possible fraudulent actions on the part of the bank (Articles 7 and 14 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”). The courts for the most part take the side of the injured person when it comes to salary bank cards issued by the enterprise. Undoubtedly, it is worth noting that not all banking organizations are ready to easily part with funds that need to be returned to the client. The main reason for refusing a refund may be untimely blocking of the card.

Important! If the bank client did not inform the bank about the theft of the card within 24 hours after the incident, responsibility for any transactions performed with stolen property lies with the owner of the plastic carrier.

There is a chance to quickly return stolen funds:

• for bank clients with VIP status;
• for clients whose amount of stolen funds on the card is significantly lower than possible legal costs;
• for clients whose cash withdrawal transaction from a stolen card was carried out abroad, and the card owner was in the Russian Federation at that moment.

Why can a bank refuse to satisfy a client’s requirements?

This happens most often for one reason - the client violated the recommended rules for safe use of the card: he handed it over to the wrong hands, told someone the PIN code, did not notify the bank about the loss of the card, etc. Banks most often try to prove the guilt of the victim himself. Therefore, it is recommended to strictly follow the rules of use and be prepared to go to court and provide evidence of your innocence.

The second common reason for refusal is violation of deadlines for processing due to missing money. Let us remind you that it is no more than 24 hours from the moment of the unauthorized transaction.

Another point worth considering in detail is when a bank card holder becomes a victim of telephone scammers who pretend to be bank employees. The agreement and rules for using the card stipulate that confidential data (PIN code, login and password for logging into online banking, one-time codes for transactions) cannot be transferred even to bank employees. If the funds are missing due to the fact that the client himself provided all the information, being deceived, the bank does not bear any responsibility for this. By law, you can only demand compensation for stolen funds from the fraudsters themselves after they are caught.

How to prevent money from being withdrawn from a bank card: preventive measures

Responsibility for the safety of funds on a plastic card, first of all, lies with its owner. In order to avoid fraudulent activities regarding the cardholder’s money, we recommend several rules for preventive purposes:

1. You cannot transfer your card and PIN code to third parties.
2. You cannot send card data via email or other means of telecommunications.
3. If trading operations are carried out via the Internet, it is necessary to confirm any actions, for example, by receiving a special secret code via SMS.
4. The PIN code must be entered while hiding the numbers from unauthorized persons.
5. Under no circumstances should you store your PIN code together with the card, much less on the plastic media itself.
6. When withdrawing cash from an ATM, you should pay attention to the presence of an electronic reading device - a skimmer.
7. It is not recommended to make online purchases through a computer located in a room with a large flow of customers, for example, in an Internet cafe.
8. You should not skimp on the SMS alert service, which can be used to prevent any unauthorized actions.

What punishment and responsibility are provided?

The bank is not responsible for the actions of fraudsters. Employees have access to only part of the confidential information, and the client owns the rest of the data, so he is responsible for the result of the disclosure of secret information.

Theft of money from a card falls under Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. A citizen may find out that the money was withdrawn by a thief some time after the crime has been committed. The penalty depends on the amount of damage caused by the theft:

• fine;
• forced compensation for damage;
• deprivation of liberty.

If a credit card is stolen, a mandatory check is required. Art. 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation requires the institution to compensate the client for the lost amount if an audit shows that theft occurred.

Comments: 11

Your comment (question) If you have questions about this article, you can tell us. Our team consists of only experienced experts and specialists with specialized education. We will try to help you in this topic:

Author of the article: Klavdiya Treskova

Consultant, author Popovich Anna

Financial author Olga Pikhotskaya

1. Maria
   08/25/2021 at 01:45 Tell me, I bought tickets for the peregrine falcon, the website came up through Yandex search, I called the number provided, found out there was a seat on the desired train, I made the purchase online, I received an SMS with a confirmation code, I entered it, the money was debited 5217 rubles, after a minute or two another amount of 1985 rubles is written off. I'm looking for letters in the mail about buying a ticket to understand what else I was charged for, but there are no letters! I'm calling again. I call my number, they tell me that there are no orders for my number, they ask which website I placed it on, I call it and they tell me that this is not their website! I called Sberbank, they told me that they can only block the card and send an application for re-issuance of a new one. But they cannot cancel the debits, although no more than 20-30 minutes passed from the moment of debiting to the call. How can we be here? Is there a chance to get the money back or not even try?
   Reply ↓ Anna Popovich
   08/25/2021 at 23:16

   Dear Maria, it’s difficult to say something. Contact the contact number from the site where you made the purchase, if you can contact their support, then find out the reason for the second charge. Further, it is better to block the card; if, when making a purchase, you inadvertently signed up for any paid services, then the charges may be repeated. To get a refund, you need to understand that the service wrote off payment for unprovided services for purchasing a ticket, then you can contact the police. The bank cannot unilaterally cancel a transaction.

   Reply ↓

Loan offers from non-performing banks

This method appeared last year and continues to be actively used. The scammers introduce themselves as some kind of bank (now they use the names of banks whose licenses were revoked) and talk about approving a loan in the amount of 100-300 thousand rubles at a low rate - they are ready to transfer the money online to any card. But you need to pay a transfer fee, insurance, provide card details or make a deposit (if the borrower lives in another region).

The amounts involved here are quite large - 10 thousand rubles and more. Naturally, having received them, the scammers disappear.

Read on topic: Loans from scammers: how criminals deceive citizens

How to protect yourself from such fraud?

On the Central Bank website it is easy to check whether the bank from which the loan offer was received is currently operating. It is enough to indicate the name of the bank in a special directory on credit institutions. If the system finds a bank with this name, then you must check the card to see if its license has been revoked.

Banks send personal loan offers with an approved limit and rate to their existing clients, and not to people “on the street.” In addition, banks do not ask you to transfer anything before concluding a loan agreement. If you encounter such an offer, then hang up or do not respond to the SMS.

What to do if the money was written off by the bailiffs

Bailiffs can write off money from your card if debts have accumulated or you have not paid any taxes. Such debit transactions from the account take place legally, even if the card owner did not give his permission. To control accrued fines and taxes, use the State Services website.

The FSSP of the Russian Federation has an electronic information system, which includes a database of enforcement proceedings. Any bailiff can initiate enforcement proceedings, and during the day it falls into the general database. From this moment, 14 days are counted to pay the fine or go to court to challenge it. If a citizen does not respond to the presence of a fine, the system searches his bank accounts.

At the initiative of the FSSP, the required amount is blocked on the debtor’s card for 5 days. During this period, a citizen can pay a fine without an enforcement fee. Otherwise, the fine will be written off taking into account this fee.

If the bailiffs mistakenly wrote off money that they should not have taken, follow the instructions:

1. Contact the bailiff, explain the situation and find out how to prove the write-off was wrong. The name of the bailiff and his telephone number are indicated in the notice of debit from the account. If such data is not available, request a bank statement; this information will be visible on it. Contact the inspector as soon as possible. In 1-3 days, your money will go to the state budget. They can only be returned from there through the courts.
2. Meet with the bailiff, present all documents with evidence of erroneous write-off. Fill out an application for a refund and cancellation of the order to collect money.
3. Wait for your money back.

Be prepared for the fact that it may take several days or even weeks for your money to be returned.

Analysis of controversial points of the fraud protection checklist

Recently an article was published “The most complete checklist for protection from scammers”, where some points have a downside to the coin, for example, an additional phone number and additional mail in a Google (Apple) account - this is an additional risk of losing control over a phone that is almost don't use it. But most importantly, even I am going crazy with so many actions. Many can be done, but convenience is inversely proportional to the number of security measures - life will turn into hell.

Since there are many points in the checklist for protection against scammers, I will go through them with an explanation of how they can be harmful.

2. You pronounce the code word on the phone, calls are written in several places, an unknown circle of people have access to them, even negotiations between oligarchs and presidents are leaked online. It is better to resolve all questions via chat in personal account or Telegram, WhatsApp.

3. Prohibition on actions with a power of attorney. This will contradict the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. A person who comes with a power of attorney will demand to carry out actions on the basis of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation - no one will go against the law, that is, the new power of attorney cancels the old orders. But most importantly, it’s inconvenient if you really can’t come in person.

7. Fraudsters will call from a bank number. You can change the number both when calling and when sending SMS.

11. Daily limits will not help you if they can be changed in the bank application or by calling the bank.

15. I already said above about an additional phone number and additional mail in your Google (Apple) account.

27. Mark phone numbers of mobile operators and banks as NOT spam. See point 7.

45. Be careful on sites with pirated content - sounds like be careful when playing with a thimblebox or installing cracked software. Maybe you shouldn’t visit left-wing sites at all?

47. If the downloaded file or application itself is not a virus, but spyware, then it can pass the scan.

49. The advice to pay in cash is strange. Paying by phone solves this problem.

56. Fraudsters will connect you, don’t even doubt it. Here, banks should, like Google, send information to all devices that the login was made from a new device.

61. Use trusted major telecom operators - this is ridiculous. If you can have a SIM card from some foreign operator, from some small country where they don’t understand Russian, then it is the most reliable. The likelihood of it being reissued by scammers is close to zero.

62. It’s better not to have an account on VK at all until they plant a picture with a swastika or a video and put you in jail for them.

68. Fraudsters sometimes block your SIM card themselves, that’s all they want. Especially this “ask a passerby, taxi driver, security guard, policeman to give you a phone” is cool combined with paragraph 60. “Do not give the phone to strangers.”

80. A lawyer will probably get more out of you in one visit than scammers. Yandex and Google have a lot of free information, but not all of it is useful, and a lawyer can give bad advice.

81. You need to make sure that there was a write-off. This can be done through the bank's app, if it works.

83. The bank will recommend writing a statement to the police.

86. About the police will be the icing on the cake - why this should not be done in some cases.

Recommendations for cardholders

To protect yourself from fraudulent transactions, follow a few tips when using a bank card:

1. Block the card if you receive a dubious notification about a debit from your account. But first, check your account in your bank account, maybe the SMS about the debit is a manipulation by scammers. Act quickly so that the attackers don't have time to steal all your money, but don't lose your head and don't tell anyone your secret information. Order a card reissue. She will have a different number, PIN code and CVV/CVC.
2. Withdraw money from bank tellers or other crowded places that are under surveillance. Most often, scammers install skimmers in ATMs near bus stops or in courtyards.
3. Use a separate card for online purchases. Banks offer virtual cards for such cases. Set a limit on it so that you cannot write off more than a certain amount per day.
4. Do not give your card to strangers, even to waiters in a restaurant. Ask them to come to you with the payment terminal and do not let the plastic out of your sight.
5. Do not share SMS verification codes, PIN code and CVV/CVC with other people.

Bank employees never ask for a PIN code, as well as other confirmation codes. Therefore, be careful, never tell them to anyone.

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