National Bank warns citizens to protect the elderly from digital fraud

Tengrinews.kz – The National Bank of Kazakhstan has raised concerns over a surge in digital fraud cases targeting older citizens, urging families to take extra steps to protect their elderly relatives.

According to the Bank, scammers are increasingly using social engineering tactics to pressure and manipulate elderly people into making impulsive decisions. Criminals often pose as officials, send deceptive messages, and apply psychological pressure during calls to confuse and deceive their targets.

To combat this, the National Bank recommends helping elderly relatives secure their mobile phones by enabling call blocking for unknown numbers and advising them not to click suspicious links or install unverified apps.

“It is also advisable to activate the ‘trusted person’ feature in mobile banking apps (if available), so that a designated family member can approve or decline suspicious transactions,” the Bank’s press service said.

Most common fraud tactics used against seniors:

• Posing as pension fund staff offering "recalculations" or extra payments
• Pretending to be from insurance companies with "profitable" investment schemes
• Claiming to represent legal cases involving pharmaceutical companies, offering compensation in exchange for personal data and financial actions
• Faking family emergencies and pressuring victims to hand over cash to couriers
• Impersonating law enforcement or National Bank staff and convincing seniors to sell property or transfer funds to so-called "safe accounts"

In case of doubt, the National Bank advises contacting second-tier banks or law enforcement agencies. For more information, citizens can call the National Bank’s contact center at 1477.