General recommendations on payment security

Every year, more and more users fall victims to internet fraudsters who come up with more inventive ways to steal people's money. To protect yourself from theft, follow these tips:

  1. Bank cards
  2. ATMs
  3. Online banking
  4. Questions and problems

Bank cards

How to store money on a card

  • Don't keep all your money on one card. Keep your main funds in a savings account in a bank. Use your bank card for day-to-day expenses. Get a separate card for online payments.

  • Set a daily withdrawal limit. This will prevent thieves from taking all of your money at once.

How to handle a PIN code

  • Don't tell anyone your PIN code, a confirmation code from an SMS message, your card's CVC/CVV2 and expiration date, or the owner's name.

  • Remember your PIN, but don't write it down. Change it every three months.

  • Cover the keyboard with your palm when you enter the PIN code.

Where to keep the bank card

Know where your card is at all times. Don't give it to anybody (for example, to the waiter when paying the restaurant bill). If someone takes a photo of your card or copies its details, you may lose your money.

If you lose your card or suspect that someone knows its details, immediately block it and get a replacement card.

How to receive money to your card

To receive a money transfer, your only need to provide your card number. No other information is needed. Don't send a photo of your card: write the number by hand instead.

To learn more, go to Phone spam and fraud.

ATMs

Use ATMs that work 24 hours and are located in a bank office. Don't use ATMs installed outdoors, in suspicious offices, or at shopping malls. Unlike the ATMs located in a bank, these can be accessed by fraudsters. They can use the following devices to copy your card details:

  • Homemade magnetic strip reader attached to the card reader.
  • A fake keypad placed on top of the real keypad that records PIN codes.
  • A miniature camera pointed at the keypad.

Before inserting the card, inspect the ATM. Fraudsters' devices are often poorly or carelessly fixed (with visible traces of glue and chips), appear loose on the ATM, and differ in color or size.

Online banking

  • Don't give your phone to strangers. Thieves can transfer money or make purchases using SMS requests to the bank or quick codes (USSD).
  • Don't store your online banking details in your phone's notes.
  • Regularly scan your mobile device for viruses.
  • Set a strong password to log in to your account via the mobile banking app. Change your password every three months.
  • Enable SMS notifications and mobile banking services. This way, you can immediately learn about your card transactions and react to unwanted ones more quickly.
  • Check your bank statements and purchase receipts regularly. Contact the bank if you find any suspicious transactions.
  • Don't log in to your online bank from someone else's device or when connected to an unsecured network. If you do, log out of the online bank and clear the browser cache and passwords if you saved them in the browser.

Questions and problems

Phone lost or stolen

Many modern mobile devices have special apps that can help you find your phone by GPS. If you can't find it, quickly block and delete the data so that attackers can't use them.

Learn more about what to do if your phone is lost or stolen:

Money disappeared from the card
Attention. Transfer the rest of the money and block the card as soon as possible before the thieves take all your funds.
  1. Use your online banking app to transfer the remaining money to another account if you have one.
  2. Block the card in the app or by calling the bank's hotline.
  3. Contact support of the company that the money was sent to.
  4. Contact your bank to get your account statement with the thieves' transactions. File an application to dispute fraudulent transactions.
  5. Report the incident to the police and attach your bank statement to it.