Fraudsters defraud bank customers by telephone
23 June 2020 - 4 min Reading time
Fraudsters are extremely inventive and are always looking for new ways to trick victims. While they used to often send messages to find out personal bank codes (the well-known phishing), they now seem to be broadening their hunting ground.
“Disguised” as bank employees, they call unsuspecting bank customers. They have one goal in mind: to steal money from their victims. Anyone who receives such a call can arm themselves by not responding to the fraudsters' question. For example, a bank will never ask for personal bank codes or ask to transfer money over the phone. Such a question is always fake.
- While fraudsters used to mainly approach their victims via messages (email, SMS, social media, WhatsApp, etc.), they are now also increasingly doing so by telephone.
- The fraudsters pretend to be a bank employee and work according to two scenarios:
- They report that the bank has security issues and ask the customer to transfer money to a “safe” account;
- They request the customer's personal bank codes and thus plunder their victim's account themselves.
- A bank never asks for bank codes over the telephone and will never call customers asking to transfer money. Anyone who receives such a question should realize that this is fake and that he / she is therefore being scammed.
How does it work?
The fraudsters call their victims by telephone. They usually report that there are security problems at the bank. To avoid any possible risk, people should transfer their money to a “safe” account. This account is in reality a money mule account and is therefore used to transfer the victim's money to the account of the fraudsters.
Fraudsters also sometimes ask for their victim's personal bank codes over the telephone. This is a form of phishing. Although fraudsters usually “phish” by sending messages (email, SMS, social media, WhatsApp, …), telephone is also a possible fraud channel. Anyone who passes on his or her codes also opens up his or her account to the fraudsters.
How to prevent this fraud?
There is only one tip that really works: anyone who is asked to pass on his or her codes or to transfer his or her own money to another account must realize: this is fake.
It doesn't matter if that question is asked via message or over the phone. The bank never asks its customers to make such a transaction.
Got scammed?
Anyone who has responded to the fraudsters' request must take the following steps:
- Call Card Stop on 078 170 170.
- Contact the bank as soon as possible.
- File a complaint with the police.
