Dimitris Kouimtsidis
A BRITISH expat on the Costa del Sol has been left fuming after a hacker stole his card details and spent nearly €500 on a pair of shoes, with his bank refusing to refund the amount.
Simon Adams has lived in Spain for 18 years and has three different accounts with Unicaja bank.
The one that was hacked was his business account for the bar that he owns in Nerja, called H20.
On May 25, he received a text late at night from Unicaja with a security code for a pair of trainers from Flannels Fashion, a company owned by Sports Direct and based in Manchester.
The 56-year-old ignored the text thinking it was just a mistake, as he hadn’t bought anything.
The next morning he checked his bank account and saw that €494 had been paid for the Alexander McQueen Oversized Trainers.
“I called my bank straight away to get this sorted out, but to my complete surprise, they said they couldn’t do anything about it,” he told the Olive Press.
Unicaja claimed that they could not offer a refund because Adams’s phone had been hacked and the perpetrator used the security code they had sent him.
“They said it wasn’t their fault, they sent me the security code and that’s all they’re obliged to do, it’s my phone’s fault,” the bar owner added.
“Apparently this is the first time this has ever happened as this is a completely secure system.
“What I ask them now is how will they fix this so that it doesn’t happen again and how can I get my money back.”
Unicaja managed to get in touch with Flannels Fashion and they provided the bank with the details of the person who bought the shoes.
The perpetrator’s name is Dylan Pagan and he apparently lives in Cannes, in the French Riviera.
However, when the Olive Press tried to call the Belgian phone number provided, the number wasn’t in use and any emails we sent bounced back.
It’s therefore clear that in fact this isn’t a real person, but that hackers have set up a fake identity for the purchase.
Adams, originally from Rugby, won’t change banks, despite Unicaja not refunding his money, but is worried this may happen again.
“I’ve frozen all three of my accounts online, so my money can only be accessed by using my card in person.
“This is the second time in just over two years someone has committed fraud with my bank accounts, so I’m definitely worried.”
When asked for a comment, Unicaja refused to disclose any information about the case to a third party.
Flannels Fashion failed to comment.
