Can you trust the police if they call you?
– Yes, if it is actually the police who are calling. It is not easy to distinguish them from scammers anymore.
This is what senior advisor at Frende Forsikring, Marius Solberg Anfinsen, says in a press release. Fraud experts have seen many cases of so-called police fraud recently.
Marius Solberg Anfinsen, senior advisor at Frende Forsikring. Photo: Frende Forsikring.
Such is the police fraud
– We see many stories of ordinary, up-and-coming Norwegians who are deceived. People who never thought they would be tricked into giving away their BankID fall straight into the trap, says Tina Jerstad, who works for Tenerity, in the same press release. The company helps people who have become victims of ID theft and online abuse.
What they all have in common is that they are served a realistic story. It usually starts with you being called by someone who says they work for the police. The person presents himself as a police investigator, with his full name and service number.
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Figures from Økokrim show that the number of fraud reports increased by 12 per cent in 2023, compared to the previous year. It is the scams that use technology to trick you that are increasing the most.
Manipulation and empty account
– The fraudsters are good at manipulation and they fine-tune their stories all the time to get under our skin, so that we believe them. Fraudsters have managed to empty thousands of bank accounts with this method, says Marius Solberg Anfinsen.
A survey Norstat has carried out for Frende shows that 92 per cent have received e-mails, SMS or telephone calls from fraudsters.
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– You learn that two people have been arrested for taking out a loan in your name. The police have also found a car purchase authorization signed by you. It appears more credible than ever before, says Tina Jerstad.
Tina Jerstad at Tenerity. Photo: Ingar Sørensen
Can work on convincing you for days
For many, some warning lights flash, but then you are eventually convinced by an enormous level of detail. You will be happy to receive detailed descriptions of the case, including case numbers and names of investigators. The person on the other end answers any questions you have, appears professional and gives preventative advice.
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– They can talk to you for several hours, preferably over a couple of days. They are very determined to build a good case and say they will send you some relevant documents in the case, says Jerstad.
– Then BankID comes into play and that’s where the fraud happens. You must confirm your identity to access Digipost or similar and see what the “police” will send you, says Anfinsen in Frende.
Dropping your account while they’re chatting with you
– Then there is an excuse that the internet is slow, so you have to approve push notifications again. But there is nothing wrong with the internet, the fraudsters rather make more transactions from your account while you are chatting, says Tina Jerstad.
What you don’t know is that the fraudsters are sitting on information about you. They will likely have your social security number and perhaps some details such as your email address or password from various security leaks. The kind you like to hear about in the media on a regular basis.
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– Then only your BankID is missing before they have everything they need to get into your online bank, says the senior adviser at Frende.
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Solution: Be direct and preferably a little rude
– Many people are deceived because they are too polite to say no. They have been dragged so far into the story that eventually it becomes too uncomfortable to break the conversation, says Tina Jerstad.
The advice is simple, but can be difficult. Be direct and do not decide on anything over the phone.
– Sort out what you are asked to do and feel free to write down what the person says. Then you say you have to call them back. If they try to convince you to do something concrete over the phone then and there, say no. If they ask you to provide any information or BankID, your alarm bells should ring loudly, says Marius Solberg Anfinsen.
– Hang up and call the main police number. Ask for the person you were talking to. Then you quickly find out if everything was just a lie, he says.
How to protect yourself against BankID fraud
- Nothing is so urgent that you have to enter important details on the phone. Buy yourself time.
- Never give BankID information to others. Not to friends, family, the police or the bank.
- Do not trust sender names on phone or email. This can be faked. Always go to the main source.
- Use apps on your phone rather than clicking on links.
- Be ahead of the curve and read up on how you can be deceived. The methods change all the time.
