VTB sees fraud attempts increase fourfold in 2022 to record 7.8 mln cases

MOSCOW. Feb 2 (Interfax) - VTB estimates that there were a record 7.8 million attempts of fraud against the bank's clients in 2022, a fourfold increase over 2021, the lender said in a statement.

"The peak of fraudulent activity against retail clients was in July last year, when 1 million attacks on clients were logged. Since August, VTB experts saw a gradual decline in this indicator, and by the end of 2022, the number of attacks had almost halved. For example, in December the number of attacks was 569,000 - 15% less than in November, and 1.3-fold less than in December 2021," VTB Senior Vice President and Head of Digital Business Nikita Chugunov was quoted as saying in the statement.

Social engineering and phishing remain the most common fraud schemes. At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of cases of social engineering, when customers under the influence of fraudsters arrange loans through remote channels and in bank offices, the bank said.

Last year VTB blocked nearly 27,000 different phishing and fraudulent resources, accounts in social networks and sites that copy the lender's brand. The bank was also able to protect the funds of 620,000 clients, all in all managing to prevent the theft of more than 22 billion rubles.

"In 2023, we do not expect drastic changes in primary fraud schemes. Compared to last year, the number of calls of intruders through messengers and social networks will increase, they will also more actively use the technology of payment through the Rapid Payment System (RPS) via QR-code for theft," Angelika Sezina, Deputy Director of VTB Business Operational Support, was quoted as saying in the statement.

The expert community is also discussing concerns about the possible use of artificial intelligence technology to steal funds, she said. However, fraud schemes that involve face-to-face communication with victims will still predominate.