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ONLINE BANKING SCAMS

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ONLINE BANKING SCAMS – MAIN TOPICS

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ONLINE BANKING SCAMS – RECOVERY OF FUNDS

Online banking scams are illegal ways that fraudsters use to get assets or money from unsuspecting victims. Oftentimes, this is done by getting information from them through various dubious means.

Though, online banking has been around since 1981 – online banking scams did not take effect until around 2004. So, as online banking gained popularity – online banking scams also got different opportunities for scammers to thrive. These days, it’s becoming more difficult for individuals to protect themselves online because scammers are getting wiser in their trade.

Let’s dig down on more details about online banking scams.

HOW DO ONLINE BANKING SCAMS WORK?

As social media grew in popularity, online scams have continued to evolve. This is because internet banking is convenient for both the user and the bank. Also, online banking prevents your physical appearance thereby promoting payments and transfers.

Vishing

This takes place when the suspect puts a call through to the victim and pretends to be working with a legitimate company like the internet service provider or a bank. While this is ongoing – the suspect tries to make the victim release personal financial information which will later be used for their fraudulent activities. This can later get to the point where the victim will be asked to transfer funds to a fraudulent account.

Malware

These are fraudulent software like Trojan which can be embedded in free downloads or attachments to defraud victims. This interrupts the online banking session and presents a page for capturing passwords, codes, and other vital information. Therefore, these details captured can later be used by the criminals to access your online bank accounts and make fraudulent transactions.

Victim’s Account

The criminal can open new accounts using information obtained from discarded or stolen documents like utility bills and bank statements. Besides, criminals could use other means to get victims’ personal information and then deceive the bank into believing the victim has changed their details. This takeover is done through vishing or other means and this takeover of the victim’s online account is managed without having to defraud the bank.

HOW DO YOU TELL IF SOMEONE IS SCAMMING YOU ONLINE?

The following are signs to tell if someone is scamming you online;

If you are contacted out of the blue especially if it’s done online, it could be a scam. The authenticity of this can be verified via their official website and by calling the phone number there. Besides, you could check out the FCA register to see if the company is available – if the name is there you can continue the conversation but if not, they will be informed that someone is trying to use their brand for fraud.

Be careful if there is urgency in making a decision. There is no legitimate firm that will push you into taking a rushed decision of submitting vital information within a deadline. If your bank is requesting your personal information or PIN, it’s a scam. Your bank will not request your details, PIN, or online banking passwords. If you are suspicious, get the bank’s contact number from the website and call them directly. If the email or letter you received is full of grammatical and spelling errors, it could be a scam. Most companies ensure that these emails are proofread and check for grammatical errors before sending them out. If the website you are on does not have a secure link, it could be a pointer to fraud. So, whenever you are on a website – it’s important to check whether the site has a secure link. This can be done by checking for a padlock site on the browser. If a virus is detected – they use computer viruses to access your computer thereby making it easier for them to steal vital information that will be used to scam you. Therefore, you can have an antivirus installed to protect you from these fraudsters and even get rid of the existing ones

WHAT KIND OF ONLINE BANKING SCAMS ARE COMMON?

Online banking scams are ways through which criminals have access to victims’ financial and personal details. These fraudsters use different means to defraud people into releasing sensitive details like passwords and bank account details.

Check-cashing scams

The check-cashing scam is one of the common online banking scams. Someone meets you outside of a bank and requests that you help them cash a check (they will usually say that they do not operate an account at that branch). So, you deposit the check and get cash from your account to pay them. The check clearing process takes some days and if it doesn’t get cleared – the money is held against your account.

Unsolicited check scams

If you ever received an unsolicited check in your mail that looks like a refund for an overpayment or rebate check. Be sure to go through it properly because you might be going into a contract after signing the check and cashing it. This is one of the ways by which scammers use to get victims into some form of commitment that could cost them later on. So, if you are not expecting any refund or rebate check – check them thoroughly before cashing it.

Overpayment scams

If you sell online or you render some kind of services – you might be targeted by overpayment scammers. The fraudster makes an offer and makes payment through a check or credit card; this payment is usually above the agreed price. The scammer gets back apologizing for the overpayment. Then they request that you wire the difference back to them but you now discover that the check has bounced or the credit card is fake. Besides, if you have shipped the order, it becomes a loss

Phishing scams

Here, scammers use emails or other means to get vital personal information from victims. The details needed might include; account numbers, social security numbers, passwords, PINs, and others. This information is needed by the scammers to gain access to your emails, bank accounts, and other personal accounts. Phishing scams are among the common online banking scams because they can target several people via emails and texts.

Government imposter scams

These are fraudsters that pretend to be working for the government. They might promise you a lottery winning if you pay some fees or taxes. Besides, they might even threaten you with a lawsuit if you refuse to pay certain debts. Government agencies or their employees won’t request people to send them money for unpaid taxes and levies. They are never permitted to ask for money or act on behalf of the government in any way.

Charity scams

Scammers also take advantage of the kind gesture of people by posing as a charity organization. They reach out to people requesting funds for a charity or to pursue a cause. Also, they could disguise the phone number which will show up as a local area code when you check it on your caller ID. Charity scammers can be easily identified because they do not have outlined ways of spending the donations – they only make vague claims

Automatic Withdrawal scams

Automatic withdrawals from your checking account can be a legitimate payment method – people make car payments or mortgages through this means. However, this system is being hijacked by fraudsters who call victims and request their check account number and some other important details on their check. Once these details are gotten – they set it on demand draft which is processed without your signature. They get paid from your bank; so you must pay attention to your daily transactions to identify this.

Employment scams

Scammers can also use employment scams get access to your financial accounts. Here, a job is promised in exchange for a certain amount of money. Also, they sometimes request account details to make payments for commissions earned. Oftentimes, these job adverts come through emails and texts. So, be wary of job adverts requesting that payments be made before job placements

CAN YOU GET SCAMMED WITH BANK
TRANSFER?

Yes, you can be scammed! Bank transfer scams are increasing at an alarming rate and the amount of money lost to scammers is also growing by the day. Bank transfer scams can otherwise be called wire-transfer scams, push-payment scams, or bank wire scams.

Here, scammers trick you into transferring money from your bank account into theirs pretending to help you protect the funds from some fraudulent attacks.

Besides, the scammers could use identity theft – by getting details from their victims through phishing. Therefore, to protect yourself from bank transfer fraud – you must protect all banking details.

Also, you could set double validation of transfers, use passwords, or PINs to protect yourself from bank transfer fraud.

WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU GOT SCAMMED?

You are not alone if you have been a victim of an online banking scam. Golden Recovery specializes in reclaiming your money that has been lost due to online financial fraud of any kind. We take satisfaction in developing case-winning tactics that are suited to the demands of our clients.

There is a legal way to reclaim what is rightly yours, and there is a method for doing it. Book a free consultation to speak with one of our experts at Golden Recovery.

The following are the different things Golden Recovery team of experts said you can do if you got scammed;

1
HAVE YOU PAID A SCAMMER?
2
IF YOU DIVULGE PERSONAL INFORMATION TO THE SCAMMER
3
IF YOUR PHONE OR COMPUTER IS ACCESSIBLE BY A SCAMMER
HAVE YOU PAID A SCAMMER?

If you paid with a debit card or credit card – get in touch with the issuing bank and request that the transaction be reversed and your funds are returned.

Did the fraudster make any unauthorized transfer from your bank account – inform your bank of the unauthorized transaction and ask for a reversal of the transaction.

Did you make payment with a gift card? – get in touch with the gift card company and inform them about the fraud. Request for a refund while keeping the gift card and the receipt safe

If you send funds transfer through Western Union or MoneyGram – contact Western Union or MoneyGram of the fraud and request for a reversal

Did you use cryptocurrency as means of payment – contact the cryptocurrency company and ask for a reversal.

IF YOU DIVULGE PERSONAL INFORMATION TO THE SCAMMER

Did you give out your social security number? – visit here for help

Did you give out your password and username? – create a new strong password

IF YOUR PHONE OR COMPUTER IS ACCESSIBLE BY A SCAMMER

If a scammer can remotely access your computer – update your security software, scan the computer, and delete any problem identified

If a scammer took control of your phone number and account – contact your service provider to regain control

HOW DOES REFUND SCAMMING WORK?

These target people who have just been scammed and lost money to fraudsters. So, whether it’s a refund scam promising to help you get your funds back or claiming to help you get back what you were promised.

The scammers persuade the victim to log in to their account; they promise the victim a certain amount but all these end up in more scams.

Signs to watch out for;

  • You have initially lost some funds as part of a scam
  • Scammers put more pressure on you to act now
  • They claim to have access to information that will help them refund your money
  • They request that no one else must know about the arrangement.

CONCLUSION

Hope this has been helpful? Everyone must be careful in handling their personal banking information as this is all that is needed by scammers to defraud you. However, If you’ve been duped by a fraudster, contact us at Golden Recovery, and our team of specialists will use their experience to recover your funds.

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CEO

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