Fraudsters rob QQ of $3.8m - Deejay's bank card information stolen

Dancehall artiste QQ celebrated his birthday last Wednesday, but what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of his life turned out to be the complete opposite as he was allegedly defrauded US$32,000 ($3.8 million).

The STAR understands that the entertainer found out he was US$32,000 poorer when he tried to use his Bank of America card at an ATM machine in New York last Wednesday.

"He went to use his card at a machine and it wasn't working so he contacted the bank," his father, GQ, explained. "When he got in touch with the bank they told him he had no funds in the account and he asked them how that was possible. They explained that he had been spending huge funds over the past few days doing online shopping, but QQ was not the one making the purchases."

black box

He said the bank is doing some investigations to find out how the entertainer's personal banking details could have gotten into the hands of fraudsters.

"The bank is looking into it, but they said these persons could have got their hands on QQ's information through a black box. A black box is something that the fraudsters put into the ATM machines to access your information without you even knowing it."

When asked whether the matter was reported to the relevant authorities, GQ said an official report is yet to be filed because the banks are carrying out their internal investigations.

"The bank says they have to carry out their investigations before getting the police involved. They say they are going to send him (QQ) a form for him to fill out and on that paper he should state the last time he used the card so that they can find the source of the scamming."

The STAR sought to find out whether the information given by GQ was official bank policy and was informed by a former Bank of America employee that the entertainer's father is right about the bank having to carry out their own investigations, but says that a report should be filed with the police immediately after finding out about being scammed.

internal investigations

"Yes, the bank has to do their internal investigations, and, yes, it takes up to 10 days for the persons to get the forms they need to fill out to follow through with those investigations, but with something as serious as scamming a report should be filed with the police immediately," she said. "The bank will need to do their own investigations to make sure that the person reporting it isn't involved but the police should be made aware of the situation."

She also confirmed that if the investigations prove that the cardholder was indeed a victim of fraud, the bank will reimburse the account holder within 90 days (information also given by GQ).

According to the entertainer's father, the incident has left QQ very sad and upset.

"He is very upset because he works very hard and cannot understand why people would want to just take other people's hard-earned bread." GQ told The STAR that he came forward with the story because he wants to make others aware of the situation. "I want others to know that this thing is still going on, especially fellow entertainers. They travel very often and use their bank cards freely so I want them to take precaution when they're doing so."