Two men from Chisinau municipality are under criminal investigation for fraud. They called different people, introduced themselves as bank employees, asked for bank card data and unique access codes and then withdrew money from ATMs in the capital city, IPN reports.

According to the General Police Inspectorate, the two suspects are 39 and 42 years old. It was also established that one of the suspects, being in the penitentiary, was coordinating the illegal activity by phone. The suspects face 1 to 5 years in jail for stealing 13,000 lei.

To avoid becoming victims of scammers, the law enforcement officers warn the citizens not to believe when they are contacted by unknown persons who present themselves as bank employees and to verify the information. Bank details must not be communicated to unknown persons.

“In order to receive an amount in your account, it is only necessary to provide the card number. When other data, such as the PIN code, expiration date, CVV2/CVC2 code are requested, this is a reason for concern and for the abandonment of the transaction. Do not provide your personal debit card details in response to requests via email, SMS, telephone or web pages that are not intended for making payments for goods or services. The bank never asks for personal data to be sent by phone, SMS, email or social media,” said the General Police Inspectorate.

In dubious cases, the population is asked to urgently call the nearest police station or the emergency service 112.