UK bank customers conned into transferring money into unknown accounts

Bank Customers Lose Money In Impersonation Scams

A survey on customers bank found most people assume older clients are vulnerable to banking frauds; notwithstanding, many young customers are often left unprotected. The data from Barclay bank found that people aged 21 to 30 were most scammed in the past three months, followed by those aged 31 to 40. 

The bank advised all users to check their bank statements and related account details frequently.  In addition, they should discard old documents and renew records to avoid dangers. Financial institutions are urging their clients to immediately respond if they see any unusual activity in their accounts. 

Some offer to pay back the money lost in frauds to the victim and have introduced unique steps to avoid crimes like identity theft and unauthorised access into the accounts of the users. 

Still, others have imposed limitations on what people can transfer using faster payment services. In addition, banks are blocking crypto-assets and their trading platforms to support customers.

Barclay blocked debit/credit card payments to Binance, and Metro Bank restricted payment to such alternatives. Similarly, Santander, Tesco and TSB have imposed restrictions on unauthorised digital asset purchases. 

The total loss in APP( authorised push payment ) was over £101mn in 2017, increasing each year, and the banks agreed to refund any such transactions. However, many others suffered losses because they were involved in unauthorised transactions.  

The loss reported by the Industry Group UK finance states in the first half of 2018, £145mn, was lost to such methods, including the transactions where the account holder was unaware of the fake transactions. 

How Does It Happen?

Several bank customers fell for the advance fee scam where the victim is asked to pay some allowance fee to secure an investment product or service. For example, one of the customers' believed they were securing payment for buying a cat. 

However, when he went to get the product (that was a cat), he met many other people who had made payment for the same and were waiting to get it. Still, all remained vulnerable after making such purchase decisions irrespective of age.  

Commonwealth Bank customers were asked to check their accounts after the reported fake transactions in hundreds of accounts. In addition, the payment was made for streaming services that most of the customers had never heard of. 

Purchase scams tricked the buyer into paying for non-existent products and services like holidays, cars or gazettes. The fraudsters posed as professional representatives of the invitation, and they lured buyers into profit-making schemes to get money transferred into their account.

• The authorities issued warnings to people not to disclose monetary details to criminals on the phone. 

• In the case of crypto assets, the fraudster poses as investment advisors and gets money transferred into the digital wallets controlled by them. As a result, banks like HSBC have banned customers from their online share trading platforms from trading in firms like Microstrategy, which invested heavily in crypto. 

• Some criminals lure victims into buying their products online or through digital advertising, and the victim is asked to download the software through remote access. Unfortunately, this app hijacks the device of the client, and the losses can be Unrecoverable.

How To Protect Yourself?

• Beware of unsolicited calls asking you to transfer money online. Do not provide passwords, PIN or bank details to unknown callers and do not agree to pay for a product or service in a hurry.

• Do not access public internet services like unsecured wi-fi to transfer money. 

• All apps should be kept updated, and the clients should integrate strong security in the system to avoid the loss of crucial information. 

• Avoid accessing banking addresses through the links offered in messages or text; instead, go to the legitimate protected site to access your account. 

• Do not panic to make a deal that you regret in the future, and carefully analyse all the details before initiating fund transfers to another account. 

What To Do If You Suspect Fraud?

Call your bank immediately and inform them about the crime. Regulators ask people to take note of such online hoaxers offering lucrative deals on virtual platforms. As a result, many banks have introduced new AI-based checks to identify and restrict dubious fund transfers. In addition, they ensure fair outcomes for customers reporting the crimes and are seeking ways to improve the methodologies to protect customers. 

If you have shared passwords or personal information, sign up for the protective registrations with the authorised sites. Change all the related passwords and account details that have been compromised and set up two-step passwords authentication. 

Irrespective of your age, anyone can become susceptible to such crimes, and in case you suspect any such crime, talk to an authorised person or the one you can trust and do not ignore the related concerns. Always contact valid authenticated numbers and report the crime to the police if you suspect a crime like an impersonation or if you are in any doubt. Such crimes take a toll on mental health; contact confidential helplines to get assistance if required.