The duo that scammed an elderly woman in her house on Smidshof in Sint Willebrord on Thursday afternoon, posing as bank employees. The police made the announcement Friday morning.
When the woman returned home between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m., a man and woman entered her house with her. They managed to get her debit card with pin code, but they would not have been able to take any money because the woman had blocked her card in time. The ‘bank employees’ fled in a car. A description of the two has not been released.
“The victim was unable to give a statement, she was so upset.”
According to the police, the victim was so upset by this cowardly form of fraud that she was unable to make a statement on Thursday. Police have conducted a neighborhood investigation and are in contact with the victim. “So that she can file a report at a later time.” The woman was not injured.
Police say they have seen an increase in the number of reports of bank help desk fraud in the past two months. “People are approached by criminals who pretend to be employees of a bank.
Where criminals first managed to steal people’s bank cards and login details in order to loot accounts at a later time, they are now becoming more and more brutal. “There are several known cases where the victims’ home has been hit.”
“At first people don’t even realize that money has been stolen.”
Someone pretends to be an employee of a bank. He or she visits the victim’s home and logs into the bank account there using a tablet, laptop or telephone of the victim. It is then looted and the thief runs off. “At first people don’t even realize that money has been stolen,” a police spokesperson said. “Until they look at the bill themselves. It often involves thousands of euros.”
Police are warning people to be alert. “Cyber criminals work professionally. For example, they use techniques that call centers also use. They are also handy in chat tricks and they sometimes have a lot of data about their victims. For example, the cyber criminal can pretend to be a bank employee, someone from an agency, your daughter or son or some other so-called acquaintance you trust.”
According to the police, it is often unexpected, unusual requests that these people make and almost always provide urgent. “Your bank will never pressure you to act as quickly as possible. A bank itself has the option to block an account if necessary. Do not participate in these chat tricks, do not let people in and do not give anyone access to your account. Never hand over your bank card or login codes.”
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