Security in electronic transactions

At Piraeus Bank we apply modern methods that secure your transactions, protect your data and shield you from malicious actions by third parties.

Protection Against Caller ID Spoofing Fraud

This type of fraud occurs through phone calls where customers of banks or financial institutions receive calls that seem to originate from their bank. The caller ID displays the bank’s phone number, but the call is actually from malicious third parties. These fraudsters exploit technological tools (without breaching the bank’s systems) to impersonate bank representatives, attempting to steal sensitive banking information such as usernames, passwords, card numbers, PINs, or OTPs to access victims' accounts.
Often, to appear more convincing, the fraudsters make a second call immediately after a failed attempt to deceive. In this call, they claim to be calling from the bank to protect the customer from the previous fraud attempt.

Protection Tips

• Be cautious with sensitive data
Never disclose sensitive banking information (such as usernames, passwords, PINs, card numbers, OTPs, etc.) even if the call appears to come from your bank.
• Genuine communication from the bank
Remember that the bank will never ask for such information, even during transaction confirmations.
• Immediate call termination
If you feel that someone is trying to deceive you, end the call and contact the bank yourself through the official customer service number.
• Do not follow instructions to enter codes
Do not enter codes that are suggested to you during phone calls.
• Verify OTP messages 
Read the entire messages sent by the bank via SMS OTP or Viber OTP carefully instead of quickly entering the one-time code.

Points to Watch Out For

• Time pressure
If the caller does not give you time to think, ask for information or contact your bank.
• Requests for sensitive data
They ask for PINs, e-banking login credentials (username & password), or card details.
• Fake SMS messages
You receive SMS from the bank, and the caller claims that the code is required to cancel the fraudulent transaction. In reality, no one-time code is needed for the bank to cancel any fraudulent transaction against you.
• Money transfers
They ask you to transfer money to a "safe" account or perform a "test" or "dummy" transaction.
• ATM withdrawal
They guide you to withdraw or transfer money via ATM.
• Card or PIN collection
They inform you that you are a fraud victim and will send a courier to your home to collect your card and PIN or money that they convinced you to withdraw from an ATM to protect it.
• Mobile device deactivation
They ask for information about your mobile device or urge you to turn it off.

Fraud for alleged recovery of money

It refers to fraud by telephone call with the purpose of deceiving the victim into making transactions. The fraudsters call unsuspecting customers on their phone pretending to be their accountants, public officials, etc. They convince customers that they will receive e.g. financial aid, benefits, back pay or pensions and instruct them to go to an ATM to receive the amount or to carry out a money transfer within the bank to a third party or send a remittance via Piraeus e-banking.

Protect yourself by taking the following actions:

• Don't declare or disclose your personal details (e-banking credentials, card details) to strangers who call you and ask you to give them away, allegedly to receive money.
• You are cautious and don't give out your personal information to unknown users. You confirm the authenticity of the person you are talking to by calling your partner yourself at the contact numbers the person has given you at the beginning of your cooperation.
• If someone calls you and tells you that it is, for example, your accountant and asks you to go to an ATM to get an allowance, hang up immediately.
• If they call you and tell you that going to the ATM and selecting "Online Deposit" or "Transfers" transactions will result in you receiving money, you must end the call. These services are for depositing funds and are only for transferring or depositing money to other customers of the bank and not for receiving any amount from any customer or organization.
• If you are told in the conversation that when making the transaction at the ATM and receiving money you will have to enter the code they will give you in the "Amount" field, you immediately end the call. The code they give you is the amount you will eventually transfer to another customer within the bank.
• Please be aware that orders via Piraeus e-banking for transfer or to third parties are only for sending money and not for receiving. In case that you receive an e-mail purporting to be from the bank stating that "at this time your e-banking is not working as a money transfer, but as a money acceptance" you should be aware that it is a scam. You should immediately terminate the communication with the fraudster and do not proceed with any action the fraudster has urged you to take.

In any case, you should not make any hasty actions. Take your time, investigate and consider whether an action could be detrimental to you. If you realize that you have been a victim of fraud, call the bank to report the incident and for any further action and instructions.

Protection of your personal information

These are scams related to "voice fishing" known as vishing or phishing for personal data via telephone communication. Vishing is designed to mislead you into disclosing your personal information.

The most common forms of customer outreach are:

• Telephone call from a technician claiming to fix or upgrade your PC and its software. The fraudster methodically and by pressure forces you to give remote access to your PC. Also, the scammer may download a program to solve the "alleged problem" so that they have full access to your personal information.
• Goods' sales. Your fraudster pretends to be interested in a purchase of a good that has been registered on a corresponding goods sales platform. The perpetrator in a methodical manner asks for your personal bank credentials under the pretext that you transfer the money for the purchase of the goods directly to him.
• Seasonal scams. The fraudster, using various allowances or payments you are expecting, calls you and introduces himself e.g. as an accountant, an electricity company employee, a tax official, a health official, a person interested in booking accommodation, a truck owner for transporting fuel, etc. In this case, the fraudster is methodically and forcefully trying to get your personal bank credentials in order to make fraudulent transactions.
• Investment scams. The scammer lures you in by promising extremely high returns in a short period of time, assuring you that his investments will be safe and profitable. The scammer entices you to invest a small initial capital and constantly forces you to invest more and more money so that the "investment" will yield more profits. Many times he also installs a remote access program on your computer and gains full access to both your portfolio and your bank accounts.
• Loan scams. The fraudster approaches you under the pretext of disbursing loans on unrealistic terms, e.g. from foreign banks with zero interest rates, etc. and asks you to pay a "small" amount to cover loan costs in order to disburse the loan.
• e-mail from CEO or invoice payment. The fraudster having knowledge of which company employee has access to corporate payments informs you by urgent e-mail as the alleged CEO to make a corporate payment immediately. Also, a company may receive an e-mail/phone call from a "partner" to change the bank account in which they have been making payments so that future payments are credited to the fraudster's account.

Protection from online phishing

Phishing is the malicious attempt by fraudsters to steal personal information such as e-banking credentials, credit or debit card numbers or PINs, passport numbers, ID cards, tax identification numbers, etc.

How fraudsters approach a potential "victim":

• Phishing e-mail
  These are fraudulent e-mails that are sent in bulk to random accounts of unsuspecting recipients, where either by luring them or trying to convince them that it is necessary, they invite them to click on a link in the e-mail. This link leads to sites created by fraudsters, which resemble the banks' genuine sites. Their aim is to trick users into entering their personal details, which they will then use to enter the online banking environment and act as real customers.
• Phishing SMS (smishing)
  These are fraudulent SMS messages, which via a link ask you to log in to Piraeus e-banking by selecting this link. They try to entice the customer to select the link by using verbiage of the form e.g. call a number to cancel/verify a transaction, unlock/activate your account, update your details by clicking here, etc. If you select the malicious link you will be taken to an interface similar to that of the bank and you will be asked to enter your credentials and then the one-time passwords you receive.

If you provide your details as mentioned above, the fraudsters will directly enter the application and will be able to manage your money.