Scammers steal $500,000 from woman’s account

Jane Brown*, a Corporate Area resident said she is struggling to pay her bills after her bank account was wiped clean by hackers in December.

Speaking with THE STAR on Tuesday, Brown said the incident is threatening to ruin her credit score and based on an ongoing investigation by the financial institution, she may have to count her losses and move on.

"Right now they are telling me that they don't see where their system was compromised so I will have to stand that loss, and in addition to that, I will have to pay the credit card bill. This is really unfair and stressing. Customers continue to become victims and then they are going to use the excuse to say that they told you not to click on the link," she said.

Brown said that for several weeks, she had been receiving a notification every time she logged into her account to click on a link to update her app. She stated that the message warned her that if she did not carry out the action, she would be restricted from accessing the mobile app. On December 1, she followed the procedure and two days later, she realised that almost $500,000 was missing from her account.

"It took me a little while to process what had happened. Then I began to look at the statements and I realised that three new beneficiaries were added. I didn't add anyone and neither did I get any notifications that anyone was added," she said.

In light of reports of smishing and phishing, the bank has been advising customers never to click on links received in emails or text messages, especially when it relates to bank accounts, credit or debit cards. Brown said she contacted the bank's customer care centre to inform them of the incident, and the following day, she physically visited a branch to make an official report.

"They told me that I need to report it to the police and I went there and it was just back and forth. The police say the bank will have to do their investigation and it's like I can't get anywhere. All I can hear is that they are investigating and now a restriction is placed on my account. I have sent monies there to pay my monthly bills and because it's standing order, it has to go to the account. All of this is just frustrating," she said.

Brown said that she is also being billed for a credit card that she is yet to receive.

"Yet still I get a bill to pay because of what transpired. The fraudsters used my credit card and buy only phone cards. They spent $145,000, so when you put that along with the credit card, it's over $600,000," Brown said.

*Name changed to protect identity