The frauds committed without the physical presence of the card, by using its number, through social engineering methods, represent about 90% of the value of frauds committed by using payment cards issued in Moldova. The holders are manipulated to reveal confidential information, such as the integral number of the card consisting of 16 digits, the security codes CVV/CVC2, the one-time password sent by SMS, etc.

In a response for IPN, the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) says that in international practice they use a relevant indicator that shows the size of frauds with bankcards. This is the ratio of the value of frauds to the value of operations with payment cards. This indicator for the second quarter of this year was 0.015% of the total value of transactions performed with cards issued in Moldova, remaining at a much lower level than the frauds committed in European countries, where they represented 0.041%.

Even if the value of such frauds in the second quarter of this year was higher than in the corresponding period last year, the value of frauds committed in the last two quarters is lower than the value recorded at the end of 2017, for example. This diminution is due to the efforts made by banks to strengthen the security measures applied when performing operations with cards.

“Both the National Bank and the issuing banks permanently take measures to educate and inform the public about the protection measures against frauds committed using payment cards. For the purpose, the NBM formulated and published a series of recommendations designed to increase the safety when using cards physically and online. The recommendations are available on the NBM’s website,” said the Bank.

In case of loss, theft or other suspicious situations, the card holder should inform the bank immediately and request the locking of the card. Bankcard support services are available 24/7/365, including through web and mobile distance service applications.

As to the possibility of recovering the financial losses, this depends on the size and type of fraud and factors that contributed to it. The issuing banks, when they receive an application concerning unauthorized operations from the card holder, immediately take action and solve the problem. The holders are also recommended to file applications to the police so that they take measures to recover the stolen funds and to hold the swindlers accountable.