"A fraudster called me — said they were calling from the Social Insurance Agency (VSAA), demanded that I state my name and personal code. I provided it, but then realized that if a person called me from a government agency, they should have known my name and other details! I immediately hung up."
Fortunately, I did not provide any information related to bank accounts. But I am concerned about this: could the fact that I mentioned my name, surname, and personal code now be used for fraudulent purposes (for example, to take out a loan in my name)? Reader of bb.lv
Comment from the State Police:
– The only way fraudsters can take advantage of (and most likely will try to take advantage of) such information is by recording it, linking a specific phone number to the personal data of a specific person.
It is clear that when a person receives a call and their data is mentioned, it creates trust and may give the impression that they are indeed being contacted by a bank, a government agency, etc. This, in turn, may make it easier for the fraudster to convince the person to provide their banking details or hand over cash during the next call.
Therefore, a person who accidentally disclosed their personal data to fraudsters should simply be more cautious in the future, and most importantly — under no circumstances should they disclose other confidential information – banking details, Smart-ID codes, PIN codes, etc. They should also not hand over cash to unknown individuals, even if the caller claims to be an employee of the police, bank, security service, hospital, etc. If there is a suspicion that banking data has indeed been leaked, one should immediately contact their bank to block the account.
Recently, fraudsters have often impersonated employees of the companies "Sadales tīkls" and "Latvenergo," visiting residents' homes and demanding cash. Phone fraud has also spread under the name of VSAA.
An important point: fraudsters can imitate phone numbers so that the number from which the call was made may even match the number of a government agency from which they allegedly call.
As for the possibility of taking out a loan on a person knowing only their name, surname, and personal code — it is minimal: this information alone is not enough to obtain a loan.
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