YEREVAN, July 9. /ARKA/. There is a growing risk of scam calls targeting the most vulnerable category of citizens -pensioners. The scheme relies on social engineering: criminals simulate calls from an official agency or companies managing pension savings, and under the pretext of an “accounting error”, they attempt to gain access to the victims’ money.
How the Scam Works: From “Recalculation” to Theft
The deception begins with an unexpected call: “An error was found during recalculation, you are entitled to a bonus payment, and we just need to confirm your details”. Alternatively, they may use high-pressure tactics: “You were overpaid, you must return the money immediately, or your benefits will be frozen, and your account will be blocked”.
The scammers then quickly switch the conversation to demanding action. They ask the victim to read out their passport or ID card number, the bank card number, where they receive their pension, and the SMS verification codes. In some cases, scammers lure victims to phishing websites that look exactly like official pension fund portals, prompting them to enter the required data there.
As soon as the criminals get the SMS code, they can log into the user’s online account, change the password, take out loans in their names, or drain all available funds from their accounts.
Important detail:
To look convincing, scammers use the actual names of the companies managing Armenian citizens’ pension accounts and may even fake their logos on messengers. Another dangerous tactic they use is number faking: a phone number resembling the official call center number of the management company may appear on the screen, tricking the person into trusting the call and not verifying the information.
The Legal Trap
The trap lies in the fact that the clients share the data and confirm the actions themselves. If a transaction is initiated by the account holder and verified via an SMS code, banking systems recognize it as legitimate. Once that happens, recovering the money becomes extremely difficult.
IDBank recommends:
- Hang up immediately. Legitimate pension funds and management companies never resolve recalculation or refund issues over the phone. Any call demanding that you “correct your details” is a scam.
- Call back yourself. Find the official number on the management company’s website and call them directly. Do not call back the incoming number, even if it looks familiar.
- Never share SMS codes. No employee of a bank, pension fund, or government agency is authorized to ask for your one-time password, the three-digit code on the back of your card, or your online banking password.
- Do not click on links in messages. Check the address bar: official websites use the “.am” domain without any extra characters.
- Discuss this scam with your parents and elderly relatives. Generally, the older a person is, the more they tend to trust calls made on behalf of official authorities.
Remember: pension and social funds will never call demanding that you urgently “correct your data”, nor will they ask for SMS codes or direct you to third-party websites. Any such call is a major red flag. Your funds remain safe as long as you do not provide third parties with access to them.
THE BANK IS SUPERVISED BY THE CBA
