Banks caution public on theft – The caller claims bank employee

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KUWAIT CITY, May 13: It seems the thieves are always one step ahead in planning to rob unsuspecting people, reports Al-Anba daily. First it was a hoax. The trick was to lure a bank customer with a money prize sometimes of up to KD 20,000 and after convincing the victim, the caller would ask for the bank card number, four digit secret code number and secret number and in just a few seconds the victim would discover that the entire bank balance has been wiped out through a quick online process.

Although the general public was warned in several languages not to communicate with such people many are said to have fallen prey. The thieves are now adopting a new modus operandi. The caller at the other end claims to be an employee of the bank and tells the victim that his/her bank account will be closed if it is not updated immediately.

In one such incident, a caller believed to be Asian but speaking fluent Arabic called a woman, born in 1957, and introduced himself as bank employee. He asked the woman to update her account and offered to help her. When the woman agreed and adhered to the caller’s request and gave her card number and the four-digit secret and in just a few seconds her balance of KD 1,303 fell to just KD 2. The daily added, many people have been robbed in this manner.

The authorities have called on the people to be vigilant because the bank employee never asks its customers for the four digit code number. According to news reports dozens of other people have been robbed in this manner.

This news has been read 22106 times!