From September 21 to 25, a preventive campaign called “Cybersecurity Week” will take place in Belarus, particularly in Minsk. The day before the event, a working meeting was held between representatives of law enforcement and the banking sector.

The main topic of the dialogue was improving mechanisms to counter fraudulent operations. Particular attention was paid to cases where the target of theft becomes the credit funds obtained by citizens through personal visits to a bank branch.

According to police lieutenant Sergey Yakubely, deputy head of the UUS Minsk City Executive Committee – head of criminal police, there are many key indicators that can alert bank staff that a client taking a large loan or planning to transfer someone else’s money is acting not independently but under the direction of criminals. He listed the main behavioral signs for this situation.

• increased anxiety
• nervousness
• avoiding eye contact
• responding to calls during a conversation with an employee
• a desire to isolate
• use of speakerphone
• inability to clearly explain the purpose of the loan
• canned phrases (“for repairs,” “for treatment”)
• evasive answers
• persistent requests for confidentiality
• refusal to meet with relatives
• references to a prohibition on disclosing information

Also highlighted are financial indicators:

• client hurries the employee
• demands speeding up the process
• fears adverse consequences if delayed
• intention to withdraw the entire amount in cash immediately
• transfer funds to an unknown account
• visiting ATMs at unusual times
• frequent balance checks
• installing new applications on behalf of other persons

Police lieutenant Yakubely also mentioned technical and numerical signals:

• presence on the device of applications for remote control of a smartphone or PC
• the client cannot perform simple operations in the mobile bank on their own
• obvious execution of some instructions
• many short calls
• long conversations with unknown numbers in the call history

The head of the Cybercrime Countermeasures Department of the UUS Minsk City Executive Committee, lieutenant Pavel Strook, emphasized that combining the capabilities of the financial sector and law enforcement allows for more effective resistance against threats that are constantly evolving.

Law enforcement officials and banking sector representatives did not stop at merely discussing the problems; they developed concrete joint approaches aimed at reducing the risk of citizens obtaining loans while under the influence of perpetrators.

The measures adopted are intended to strengthen the protection of the republic’s population and to raise their level of financial literacy and awareness.