This is an umbrella term for a wide range of frauds that involve online banking systems. The scams themselves may differ in nature and con artists employ various extortion methods. However, they all use the official financial institutions as a cover. Victims usually trust the bank’s authority and legitimacy so they don’t question the fraudulent setup.
Banks are aware of this problem, and they are constantly striving to improve their safety measures so they would properly guard their clients’ funds. Unfortunately, the scammers aren’t idle and they are continuously searching for new ways to dupe people out of their money. The financial loss made from these types of fraud may range from several hundred dollars to hundreds of thousands.
Authorized Push Payment Fraud
This is a scam that targets businesses rather than individuals. Authorized Push Payment (short for APP) Fraud exploits companies’ diligence. A scammer would send a fake invoice to a company requesting a payment. In most cases, the con person is presenting themselves as an official firm. Of course, they are charging for non-existent goods and services while they offer their personal bank account. Many businesses don’t suspect the legitimacy of the bill. They pay it off, and the money ends up in the scammer’s bank account.
As these types of scams are difficult to spot, they can last for long periods of time. A business might pay out the fraud regularly, gradually increasing their financial injury. The con artists usually transfer the money to numerous accounts making it difficult to trace.
Deposit Refund Scam
A scammer will contact an individual directly by email or even by phone. They will provide an explanation that they have accidentally deposited money into the target’s account. Naturally, they would like to get it back. The con person will provide some sort of proof of payment which is plagiarized. The victim believing in the honest mistake pays the money to the fraudster. In the end, the victim incurs financial injury to themselves and the scammer disappears.
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Vishing
This scam is aptly named with a portmanteau of Voice and Phishing since it combines these two. An individual receives a call from a con person posing as a bank officer. In most cases, they explain that an irregularity has occurred and they would need to take safety measures. The fraudster precedes to ask the target a series of questions as a form of a security check-up.
The inquiry is designed to elicit personal and financial data along with credit card info. The victim, trusting they are helping a security officer, gladly provides the answers. The scammer can use all the information to steal the money or commit identity theft.
Payment Card Fraud
Scammers don’t need your physical credit card to commit fraud, but they will use all the means possible to get your credit card info. There are various scams to go about this. Some include secret card readers to extract the victim’s data, others involve various ways to trick people into divulging their info. For a more detailed view on the matter, we invite you to check our page on credit card fraud.
What to Do in Case of an Online Banking Scam?
People fall victim to online banking scams every day. We understand that it may seem you’ve lost your money, but we assure you that there is a way to retrieve it. Our team in Equity Restitution Group has a wide experience with various types of banking scams. Chances are we have already dealt with a similar case to yours, so we can offer a financial remedy.
Take matters into your hands and make a first step towards recovering your stolen money. Contact us for a free consultation.