Malta’s MFSA warns of social media scam looking to steal bank info
Malta’s financial regulator MFSA has issued a warning that a number of individuals have received unsolicited calls via social media mobile applications. The caller profile of these calls or missed calls appear to be received from ’MFSA’. The calls may appear to be received from a foreign number or may not appear at all.
It appears that the callers might be asking the consumers to provide their bank details or otherwise their bank account will be blocked.
The MFSA said it wishes to inform the public, in Malta and abroad, that these calls do NOT originate from the Authority and it likely relates to a scheme of dubious nature with a high risk of loss of money. The MFSA hereby alerts the general public to never provide such sensitive and confidential information over social media, email or other means to unknown individuals.
It should be noted that the Authority communicates with the public only through official channels. Similarly, banks or other government institutions do not contact consumers through such means.
The MFSA would like to remind consumers of financial services not to enter into any financial services transaction unless they have ascertained that the entity with whom the transaction is being made is authorised to provide such services by the MFSA or another reputable financial services regulator. Investors should also be extra cautious when being approached with offers of financial services via unconventional channels such as telephone calls or social media.