Residents Lose Over $1.2M Due To Scam
“Complaints from this week alone have revealed that local residents have collectively lost over 1.2 million dollars due to this scam,” the police said today.
A police spokesperson said, “The Financial Crime Unit [FCU] has received several reports this week regarding a troubling rise in fraudulent activity targeting both local businesses and members of the public—particularly customers of financial institutions [Banks].
“In these incidents, individuals impersonating agents of local banks [from the Fraud Department] are contacting customers and falsely claiming that fraudulent activity has been detected on their accounts.
“The fraudsters then request login credentials to “resolve” the issue. Once they gain access to the accounts, they quickly transfer funds to overseas locations.
“So far, complaints from this week alone have revealed that local residents have collectively lost over 1.2 million dollars due to this scam.
“As we enter the festive season, a time historically associated with increased fraud activity, the Bermuda Police Service [BPS] urges residents to remain vigilant and note the following to protect against falling victim to these types of scams:
- 1. Bank representatives will never ask you over the phone for your personal account login credentials.
- 2. If you are uncertain about the legitimacy of a call, hang up immediately and contact your bank directly by phone or in person.
- 3. Do not download or install any third-party software at the request of someone claiming to be a bank representative.
- 4. If you receive an email claiming to be from your bank, you should check the email header to see if it matches the details of legitimate emails you’ve received from your bank before.
“The BPS is also aware that persons are receiving WhatsApp messages from friends in their phone contacts list, asking them to send money to a disclosed location. However once contacted the person supposedly making the request confirms they did not send any such message.
“We urge residents to please be vigilant of this and if in doubt or, if something seems strange about the request, do not send money.”
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What security have the banks put in place to reduce the risk of this happening? Something simple, like instantly freezing a transaction if a transfer request is made to an overseas account you have never transferred money to before. Or if the transfer is going to a country on a blacklist. Then, CALLING the account holder! YES, CALLING the account holder!!! Banks have a fiduciary responsibility to protect your money. Will the banks issue credits for all the processing fees and taxes from the fraudulent transfers? (sarcasm)
Blacklist (Not Raymond “Red” Reddington’s Blacklist)
Top 10 Scamming Countries in the World + The Global Terrorism Index + State Sponsors of Terrorism + The Ministry of Legal Affairs Financial Sanctions Implementation Unit (FSIU) Bermuda Sanctions Regime List 2021
1. Afghanistan 2. Indonesia 3. Russia
4. Bosnia and Herzegovina 5. Iraq 6. Somalia
7. Brazil 8. Lebanon 9. South Sudan
10. Burundi 11. Libya 12. Sudan
13. Central African Republic 14. Mali 15. Syria
16. China 17. Myanmar 18. Tunisia
19. Crimea and Sevastopol 20. Nicaragua 21. Turkey
22. Cuba 23. Nigeria 24. Ukraine
25. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) 26. Pakistan 27. Venezuela
28. Democratic Republic of the Congo 29. Philippines 30. Yemen
31. Egypt 32. Republic of Belarus 33. Yemen
34. Guinea 35. Republic of Guinea-Bissau 36. Zimbabwe
37. India 38. Romania
“Banks have a fiduciary responsibility to protect your money.”
Not in Bermuda. The idea that banks are fiduciaries of their customers is an American concept. It does not apply outside of America.
Oh, my bad use of words people would easily understand. It applies worldwide in the banking industry. It is sometimes umbrellaed under a duty of care plus anti-fraud measures. Bottom line: banks are supposed to protect your money. Do you agree or disagree? Specific reasons, thank you.
If not, why require passwords to sign on and access your account?
If not, why require ID and your signature to withdraw money in person?
If not, why require ID and your signature to deposit money into your account in person?
If not, why do banks perform cybersecurity audits?
If not, why do banks keep money in a vault?
If not, why do banks have security cameras and locks on doors?
etc, etc, etc.
Now, tell me why I am wrong in detail. Thank you.
“banks are supposed to protect your money. Do you agree or disagree?”
I do not agree. Banks are supposed comply with the agreement between banker and customer. There may be local laws that affect that contractual relationship, but the fundamental basis of the relationship is contractual, not fiduciary or statutory.
OK, fair enough. Let me hold on to your money since banks obviously hold no water with you.