What to do to prevent scammers from taking a loan in your name

Yes, attackers are really capable of taking out a loan for an outsider. And the victim can learn about it only after some time, and by accident. So in 2022, when studying their credit histories, 5% of Russians discoveredthat they have loans they had no idea about. Let's figure out how not to get into a similar situation.

Try not to leave personal data on insecure resources

Passport data has to be presented quite often. They may be asked, for example, on the marketplace when making an installment plan, on the website of a hotel or airline to confirm a booking. Some resources ask you to send them a photo with an open passport, which you need to keep in front of your face.

When processing documents offline, we also often leave our personal data. For example, when we write application for admission child to school or contact a paid medical center.

We cannot know for sure that our information will not fall into the hands of those who may use it for fraudulent purposes. Unfortunately, the databases of even large and well-protected online stores can be hacked. And paper statements sometimes fall into the hands of those who sell someone else's personal information to scammers.

Therefore, be careful when you are asked to enter the series and number of the passport and registration information. And especially if they require a photo with an open document. Make sure the online portal or offline organization is secure and data leakage is unlikely. Do not leave information on a resource that you see for the first time, especially if it is an online store that offers too cheap goods. Perhaps this is a scammer's trap.

And one more thing: do not store a photo with an open passport or document scan in the smartphone's memory. You can lose your gadget, and attackers can use your data to apply for a loan or installment plan. Or get a loan from an MFI - it is easier to get it there than at a bank.

Report lost documents immediately

As soon as you discover that a document is missing, inform about the loss to the passport office or the police department. You will be issued a new passport, and the old one will be considered invalid. And the sooner you file an application for the loss of an identity card, the less likely it is to be used by scammers.

All major banks carefully study the submitted documents when applying for loans. They will not issue money or a credit card on an outdated passport. If the scammers receive a loan in your name in MFI, you will be able to challenge the contract, because on the date of its conclusion, your old passport was already invalidated.

Do not follow the requests of scammers who call you on the phone

Attackers are constantly developing new deception scenarios. And now they call not only by phone number: according to VTB survey, most often scammers use WhatsApp and Viber. Yandex analysts also fixthat the number of complaints calls grows in messengers. The company has even added a caller detection feature to its caller ID. Now, when calling from strangers, a note about their possible target will be displayed. Both useful calls from a delivery service, clinic or mobile operator are recognized, as well as harmful ones: advertising, spam, scammers. Therefore, for your own protection, you can use such determinants and be aware of the most common deception schemes.

Call from a fake cell phone operator or internet provider

The person is informed that his number is being withdrawn from service. To prevent this from happening, the caller asks to dial a combination of numbers on the smartphone - he dictates which one. You can’t do this: in this way, fraudsters can replace your phone number with their own and intercept the remote control of your bank accounts. Then they can easily apply for a loan online in your name. And then - transfer money from your account to yours.

Call "from the bank" with a message about the loan

A person receives an SMS from the bank with a confirmation code. This is actually a message from a real financial institution. Then the scammer calls. He introduces himself as a bank employee and reports that the loan application has been approved.

The person is surprised: he did not send any application. In response, the false bank employee also pretends to be surprised and asks to urgently tell him the code from the SMS he just received in order to figure out what's wrong. And he adds that another code will come soon - supposedly it will allow you to cancel the application. The code really comes, the person again reports it to the scammer. And it turns out he owes the bank a large sum of money.

Here's what's really going on. On the bank's website, fraudsters fill out an online application for a loan and fill out a form for a front person. In the column "Phone" indicate the number of the future victim. If a person gives the scammers all the codes that he receives from the bank, the money can go to the account of the figurehead. And the owner of the number to which the messages were received will be considered the debtor.

Call from fake police officers

There can be different scenarios here - scammers are constantly coming up with new stories. But the goal is still the same: to find out the victim’s personal data and bank card number along with the CVV code. Or force the victim right now to take the actions the attackers need — for example, apply for a loan and immediately transfer all the money to them.

It is worth remembering: any issues related to finances are not resolved by phone. Therefore, if you are called supposedly from the bank, police, the office of the mobile operator, you should immediately drop the call. And contact through official channels with the organization on behalf of which you were called.

Check your credit history regularly

This will help you find out if you have loans that you don't know about. The easiest way to apply is to provide you with information about credit history at public services.

In a few hours or the next day, you will receive a list of BKI - credit bureaus, where all information about your loans, installments and loans is stored. You can go to the bureau directly from the Gosuslug website and get a complete certificate of your current debts. If loan fraudsters in your name, you will see it.

Twice a year you can get such extracts for free. Perhaps this will be enough to be calm and not worry about scammers. But if you want to receive information more often, you will need to pay.

Turn on loan alerts

You can do this on the website or in the online application of your bank. This feature will be useful if someone tries to take out a loan in your name from a specific financial institution. But it is impossible to connect alerts from all banks and MFIs.

credit bureau too offer issue SMS notifications about loans. If someone wants to take out a loan in your name from any bank or MFI, you will immediately receive a message.

This service is paid, costs up to 1,000 rubles per year. Maybe it will be soon connected the same, but free function on "Gosuslugi". But for now, it's not available.

If you find out that someone nevertheless issued a fraudulent loan, you must immediately write a statement to law enforcement agencies. And get certified copies of the documents on the basis of which it was issued from the financial institution. If you need to go to court, these papers will be very useful.

Perhaps soon every Russian will appear the right to issue a self-prohibition on any loans and borrowings, acting temporarily or permanently. Back in 2022, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation proposed to develop a bill that would allow every citizen to do this. The Central Bank believes that they can help in this "public services».

Such a self-prohibition would definitely prevent fraudsters from obtaining a loan using lost documents or online. It could also be canceled through the personal account of "Gosuslug". But so far no such bill has been passed.