New form of phishing in West Flanders: “bank accounts are being emptied”

Scammers contact older people and that almost always on their landline telephones. They call with shielded or Dutch telephone numbers, but that is not always visible on a landline.

The new method of criminal organizations

Often the phishers – who pretend to be an employee of the bank – have personal information of their victims, this info may have been obtained through theft of customer data at companies. The scammers gain the trust of potential victims by providing the victim’s account number or even date of birth.

Victims receive a telephone message that something is wrong with their account and that they are losing money. A strong sense of urgency is created. The perpetrators pose as the bank’s helpdesk and propose to come on site to solve all the problems. Sometimes it is expressly requested not to contact the local bank branch or the police.

A short time later, smartly dressed people come to the door and propose to perform some actions with a bank card reader (which they often also have in their pocket). Sometimes bank cards are cut in half and taken away. In practice, the victims are robbed just at that moment or taken bank cards cut in half are reassembled (the chip itself is not cut up) and abused: money is transferred to other accounts or withdrawn from vending machines or people go – whether or not make online purchases.

(read more below the photo)

Tips and advice from the police

• Distrust unexpected phone calls from banks. Banks or government companies never ask for personal information by telephone. Are you in doubt? Then contact your own bank branch yourself (find the contact details on the official websites) or discuss it with a confidential adviser.
• Do not trust telephone calls from abroad that supposedly come from your Belgian bank.
• End the call by hanging up.
• Do not accept a home visit offer.
• Do not give bank cards to strangers, even if they are cut in half first.
• Do not pass on bank card codes, do not pass on codes generated with your own card reader, and do not enter them on card readers that the perpetrators brought with them.
• Do not allow yourself to be guided in adjusting settings in your internet banking (on PC or on smartphone), certainly do not allow to create an account if you are not yet a user of e-banking.
• Perpetrators usually speak with a clear Dutch accent and travel with vehicles with Dutch number plates.
• Has data been passed on and do you suspect that you are the victim of phishing? Notify Card Stop immediately on the new number 078 170 170 and contact your bank as soon as possible. Collect as much information as possible (number plates, personal description, telephone number (in the history of your device),…) and file a report with the local police.
• It is also advisable to inform the local police in the event of a failed attempt.