A 19-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested in Alicante after posing on the phone as a bank employee to con a woman out of €30,000.
The Policia Nacional said it was the latest such incident where criminals use the so-called ‘fake bank manager’ method to fleece unsuspecting targets out of money.
Scammers pose as bank workers during phone calls to obtain client passwords and then use the codes to steal from accounts.
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The latest con involved the victim getting a scam text message from her bank notifying her about a high withdrawal of €15,000.
She knew nothing about the transfer and used a phone contact number supplied within the message to make further inquiries.
The query was answered by the teenager who claimed to be a bank worker and who confirmed the €15,000 unauthorised withdrawal.
He said everything would be sorted out if the client gave him her passwords so that he could access the account and make an appropriate change.
She duly obliged, having been convinced that he was genuine and the man helped himself to €30,000.
The victim reported the fraud to the Policia Nacional with cybercrime experts tracking down the 19-year-old to an Alicante address.
The police has warned that fraudsters contact potential targets usually by phone, text, or email.
They make up stories that account security has been compromised or that there has been a suspicious transfer.
Emphasising ‘urgent’ action needing to be taken, victims then pass over personal details, ahead of having money syphoned from their account.
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