Suddenly a trusted authority on the phone or at your front door? Don't be fooled
25 November 2025 - 3 min Reading time
Febelfin warns against fraudsters who contact you by telephone or come to your home, pretending to be familiar authorities such as your bank or the police. Their goal? To pressure victims into taking urgent and unexpected actions that will allow them to secure their money. In some cases, the fraudsters even come to your home to take your bank cards (with PIN codes) and even smartphones or computers.
How do they try to trick you?
- You receive an unexpected phone call from someone claiming to be from the bank, Card Stop, the police, your telecom operator or another trusted authority.
- The fraudsters tell a credible story and pressure you to act quickly. For example, they may claim that suspicious transactions have been detected on your account and that immediate action is needed to prevent further damage.
- To prevent this, they ask you to:
- provide card details and/or login details for your banking app,
- confirm actions with your own itsme® app,
- install software on your computer/smartphone that allows your device to be controlled remotely. This could be commercial software (AnyDesk/Teamviewer) or malicious software shared via a WhatsApp message,
- make transfers yourself to ‘secure your money’.
In some cases, someone will come to your home to take your bank card (with PIN code), your smartphone and/or computer to “secure” them. Any jewellery will also be taken for temporary safekeeping, because fraudsters have allegedly passed on your address to a robbery gang.
How to protect yourself?
- Never share personal information, such as access codes, your bank card PIN or passwords, even with (supposed) employees of a trusted organisation.
- Always read and check the message on your itsme® app before signing.
- Never download software onto your computer/smartphone when someone asks you to do so over the phone.
- Never transfer money based on an unexpected phone call.
- End the call immediately.
What if I do become a victim?
- Contact your bank as soon as possible
- Report the incident to the police and report the fraud
