Bilzen-Hoeselt/Riemst (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – For the first time this week, the Bilzen-Hoeselt-Riemst police, in a major advancement, apprehended three suspects associated with bank card fraud. The case was started in November last year following a victim hailing from Bilzen, who reportedly received threats in the guise of being targeted by personnel from a certain bank.
The suspects purportedly called the victim to his phone and informed him that his account had been compromised and they had to come over to deal with it. While at the house of the selected victim, they demanded his bank card and PIN number and then withdrew all the money.
Three suspects were detained in the Belgian city of Bilzen for bank card fraud after they allegedly secured a victim’s information by claiming to be representatives of a bank. Police urge residents to be alert not to fall prey to people who call them asking for personal identity numbers and other related details. After the victim reported the case, the police embarked on a massive probe into the con schemes. On Tuesday, authorities conducted raids in two locations: in Hasselt and Tienen. The suspects were released after being questioned. However, three of them were arrested. The investigating judge has since decided to take these people to court.
One of the suspects was released on bail, while the other two were held in jail for two more weeks in relation to the incident. The police are still conducting their probe into the matter, and it has been suggested that the above culprits could have carried out similar scams in other provinces as well. The police have warned the inhabitants and are appealing to them not to answer the telephone calls, which may come from persons who introduce themselves as bank employees and ask for such codes as bank cards and PINs.
Understanding the fraud scheme
Recently, more cases have been reported whereby the fraudsters went around soliciting as employees of the bank in Belgium and other neighbouring countries. These fraudsters typically use a classic scam technique known as “social engineering,” where they manipulate victims into divulging personal information under false pretences.
In this case, the criminals proceeded to call individuals pretending to be from the bank in order to create terror about account compromise. Such tactics are not new; similar scams have been reported all over the world, and as a result, banks and police have started warning subscribers against such cons. In the recent past, the banking industry has upped its campaign to pass information on how to detect the con. Banks recommend that customers do not provide any identification or other information over the phone or via e-mail if they are approached unsolicited. They underline the fact that members of the staff of a legal bank will never demand the input of a PIN Code or Password. Moreover, in these crimes, the authorities urge people to report related scams as soon as possible in order to track down the offenders and stop them from committing other crimes.
Since technology is dynamic, the approaches fraudsters use in their transactions are equally changing; hence, everyone needs to know how they can be protected against such dangers. This is because once one is aware of the various scams and is wary of any unexpected communication, one will be safe from scams.
