The police repeatedly urge citizens to be cautious, not to disclose their bank account data and other sensitive information to strangers, as well as to be careful when communicating in the e-mail environment, and to first check whether the particular company has received a license to provide such services in Latvia before taking a decision on investment.
On January 19 this year, information was received from the State Police at Rīga Teika station from a Rīga resident that 40,508 euros had been defrauded. Initial information shows that the victim was lured into, possibly, a false investment platform. Communication with fraudsters was made by telephone and correspondence.
On February 1, information was also received from a woman who had lost €14,420.
The victim had completed a questionnaire relating to investment services on a website, indicating her phone number. A moment later, she was called by a Russian-speaking man who had presented himself as a consultant on the financial platform. In continued communication, at the man's request, the woman installed some software on her mobile device, providing a stranger with the possibility to connect remotely to her phone. As a result, she's been robbed of money.
A day later, February 2, investment fraud was reported at Daugavpils. The injured party indicated that she had responded to an Internet advertisement with an offer to purchase shares of a recognizable company. Later she was called by a man who persuaded her to invest the money. She believed, started investing, and in the early days, she even saw an apparent increase in profits on the website. But in the end, the woman lost about €15,000. In addition, obtaining the woman's personal data, fraudsters took loans on her behalf from several credit institutions.
State police observation shows that the largest sums are lost by engaging in questionable investment platforms. But most commonly, residents suffer from phone fraud where criminals pretend to be bank employees, police, or other law enforcement officers.
Given the activity of international fraudsters, the State Police is again asking residents to be cautious and remember that no employees of the State Police, banks, or other public authorities will ever call to clarify access data to bank accounts.
One should also never install software such as “AnyDesk”, “Quick Support” and “Team Viewer” on the computer at the request of strangers, with which strangers can remotely connect to the computer and bank account and perform illegal activities with financial resources.
However, if you do get involved with fraudsters, representatives of banks say the most important thing is to report it as soon as possible. The amount of fraud attempts prevented has exceeded EUR 500,000 in January this year.
