The message sounds like the hoped-for solution: the housing loan has been approved, only a small fee must first be transferred to a stated account. This is precisely the point at which it is pointless to continue comparing the promised interest rate. You must first verify the contact and the payment demand independently.
The Austrian FMA explicitly describes advance-fee fraud by alleged loan brokers who demand fees in advance and then do not provide a loan. It also warns of copied identities of authorised companies. [FMA-VORSCHUSS] Therefore a well-known company name in the message text is not sufficient confirmation.
Interrupt the requested payment
Our editorial recommendation: do not transfer the requested activation, verification or unblocking fee until you have independently resolved the matter. The name of the fee does not prove an actual verification mandate. Even a professionally designed document is not binding merely because of a logo.
Do not use a telephone number or link from the suspicious message for verification. Search for the institution or the competent supervisory authority via an independently accessed channel. Compare the company, permitted activity and contact details. The FMA cites this independent contact-data check especially for cloned companies. [FMA-VORSCHUSS]
Remove your own time pressure from the conversation
In the fictitious case a buyer still lacks documents for her financing. An unknown contact offers an immediate confirmation for 390 euros in advance. The buyer cancels the payment process and asks her already known bank branch via its confirmed contact route whether the confirmation came from them. She does not pay a smaller amount as a test.
The example does not claim that 390 euros is a typical fraud amount. Its purpose is the decision before the first transfer. An imminent purchase does not make an unverified source more reliable. Inform the actually responsible parties about the outstanding financing status, instead of passing on a dubious confirmation as if it were secured.
If money or data has already been transmitted
Contact your bank immediately via a confirmed channel and describe the payment, time and recipient. Secure messages and payment receipts for further clarification. In case of suspected fraud, the supervisory authority or the police are appropriate points of contact. The article does not promise recovery of the money.
Do not make any further payment to someone who now promises help or a refund for an additional fee. The FMA also warns against further payments to dubious providers. [FMA-VORSCHUSS] The aim is initially not to increase a possible loss and to restore the financing to independently verified contacts.