Woman victim of fraud tells how her bank account was emptied: “They took all my money”.”
A young victim of bank fraud shared her experience after having her savings account emptied. She reports that she received a call, supposedly from the bank's telephone number, in which the fraudsters skillfully impersonated the financial institution in order to commit the crime.
He was the victim of a fraudulent phone call. When she answered, she was asked to “confirm a purchase” of a life insurance policy in the amount of 9,000 pesos. Despite her initial suspicions, the young woman agreed to the call because, she says, she was distracted.
Although her intuition made her doubtful, when she saw the matching bank number on her screen, she believed the call was legitimate. Most alarming was that the scammers appeared to have detailed information about her account and that an identical switchboard to the bank's was heard, which increased her confidence in the call.
The young woman began to provide her personal information and bank details, unwittingly handing over all her savings to the fraudsters. She was devastated to discover that she had been a victim of fraud.
The time spent on the call and the concern of her relatives, who urged her to hang up, could not prevent the tragic outcome: her money had already been transferred, and she was left empty-handed.
The young woman hopes that her experience will serve to make others aware of the risks and precautions to take to avoid becoming a victim of fraud.
- Do not share personal or banking information with anyone, not even by phone, email or SMS.
- Memorize your passwords and PINs, and do not write them down anywhere.
- Change your passwords regularly and use a secure combination of letters, numbers and symbols.
- Be wary of calls, e-mails or SMS messages requesting personal or banking information.
- Do not click on links in suspicious emails or text messages.
- Check your bank account charges regularly and report any unusual activity to your bank.
- Stay informed about the latest forms of bank fraud
