Cyber criminals are attempting to empty bank accounts with scam messages

On Monday, cyber criminals sent a text message to many Estonians, creating the impression that Omniva was unable to deliver a parcel due to incorrect address data and the recipient had to click on a link to resolve the issue. The message containing a link stated: ‘Dear customer, your product has been returned to the warehouse due to an incorrect address. Please update in a timely manner.
 
This was a scam and Omniva is not behind these messages, confirmed Martti Kuldma, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer of Omniva. ‘We would like to ask people to pay attention and not click on suspicious links,’ he emphasised and encouraged everyone to warn their loved ones of the scam as well.
 
‘Scammers are using a technology that allows them to change the name or email address of the sender so it is seemingly sent from a trustworthy source, such as Omniva,’ said Kuldma. ‘The message is not really from Omniva’s servers but from cyber criminals who have hidden behind the name of a specific brand.’
 
The cyber attack on Monday brought along a large number of enquiries to the Omniva customer service. ‘We received about 2,500 calls and about a thousand emails from concerned and observant people,’ stated Kuldma.
 
According to him, this was the sixth attack of its kind this year and Omniva is only one of many whose identity is being used for fraudulent purposes. ‘We have notified people through our website and various social media channels. Yesterday, we immediately contacted CERT, which handles the monitoring of national cyberspace and the prevention of incidents. The website at the link has been reported and a warning will be displayed to Estonian customers if they visit the page. Within a few days, the page is going to be taken down as a result of international cooperation,’ he said.
 
‘Naturally, we cooperate with telecommunication companies to stop the attacks; the latter control the channels used for fraud and, in practical terms, this is the only way to put a stop to these attacks,’ admitted Kuldma. ‘Telecommunication companies are responsible for finding universal solutions for protecting their customers and avoiding such scams. If telecom companies fail to solve this problem independently, regulators are sooner or later going to apply pressure to find a solution.’
 
 
How to tell whether a message is fraudulent?
If you are expecting a parcel from Omniva, you should check in the case of a slightest suspicion whether the parcel number in the message is the actual number of the ordered shipment. Using the Omniva parcel tracking system at https://minu.omniva.ee/track helps to make sure that a message concerning a parcel is genuine. To ascertain whether a message is fraudulent, you are always welcome to contact the customer service of Omniva (phone number: +372 661 6616; email: [email protected]; Mon–Fri 9 a.m. – 8 p.m., Sat–Sun and public holidays 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.). Additional information on recognising scam messages and what scam emails and messages look like is available here: https://www.omniva.ee/scam-messages