A Filipino woman in Dubai lost more than 22,000 dirhams (US$6,000) from her accounts after falling victim to an online banking scam.
The Filipina, who is an administrative assistant for a private firm, said she received a call on April 25 from someone who claimed to be working for Emirates NBD Bank. The caller claimed that her personal details needed to be updated, Gulf News reported.
She sent her details, then received an authentication code. The code was sent by the same message thread which also read that her Emirates ID had been approved and was ready for collection. That made she think the earlier phone call was legitimate.
The Filipina received a call from the same number again, who asked her to upload her ID details immediately to her bank account. The caller claimed the authentication code would expire and it had to be updated immediately.
“I was busy and I thought he was a genuine person. I trusted him and gave him my bank details,” she said.
After work, she checked her bank account and saw that she had lost 21,700 dirhams from her account. A total of 12,500 dirhams was taken from her bank account and 9,000 dirhams was taken from credit card cash advances. The cash advances incurred fees of 935 dirhams plus finance charges of 96 dirhams.
In total, the victim lost nearly 22,732 dirhams in just an hour. She filed a complaint with the bank, but was told there was little that could be done – as it was her fault for giving her account details to an unknown person.
“This was my hard-earned money and I have lost it all. I hope no one makes the mistake like I have done,” she said.