All news
29 Jun 2020, 15:52

Sberbank CEO recalls how online swindlers tried to steal from him

The fraudsters managed to grab $2,000 from the businessman's banking card, he recollected
Sberbank CEO Herman Gref Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS
Sberbank CEO Herman Gref
© Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. In an interview with TASS Sberbank CEO Herman Gref recalled how he once was about to become a victim of online swindlers who stole $2,000 from his card.

"Someone tried to steal from me once. I was already working for Sberbank and I was on a business trip to Africa or Latin America, I don’t remember now. I paid with my card there and it was compromised. And when I returned to Moscow, I noticed that my phone kept pinging: they were transaction notifications. Someone was siphoning off my money, $500 at a time. But that was a long time ago, when we did not have AI-based blocking systems in place. $2,000 was lost before I managed to call the bank and block the card," he said.

Gref noted that eventually he had managed to get his money back.

"It was a long story. The acquirer bank was held responsible. I had to deal with them through Visa, and it took almost six months," he said.

According to Gref, nowadays the accounts are better protected with an AI-based blocking system in place to prevent fraudulent transactions.

Read full interview: https://tass.com/business-officials/1172523.