£50,000 VANISHED from Islanders’ bank accounts in a single day after fraudsters posing as bank staff tricked victims into handing over security codes.
The new scam involved fraudsters calling people in Jersey on Sunday and pretending to be from their bank – in this instance HSBC.
Victims were manipulated into sharing their one-time passwords or authentication codes from their banking apps.
Once these codes were shared, scammers were able to gain full access to victims’ bank accounts and rapidly transfer large sums of money.
The two cases reported so far to the States of Jersey Police amount to £50,000 in losses – but officers fear that it has affected other people on the Island who may not have yet come forward or realised they have been scammed.
Detective Constable of Police, Paul Otter, explained that such scams rely heavily on social engineering – a tactic where fraudsters use psychological manipulation to trick people into revealing confidential information or taking actions that compromise security – and are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
“Fraud itself has completely changed,” he explained. “[Fraudsters] are there for money. They don’t care who they contact – it could be me, you, or someone extremely vulnerable. Nobody is off-limits.”
“They ring up, purporting to be from HSBC in this instance, but it can be any bank or any company, and very quickly, they will do something where you inadvertently and without your knowledge, give them access to your accounts,” he added.
With access to banking accounts, fraudsters are able to recall recent transactions or linked accounts, in a bid to earn their victim’s trust and appear legitimate.
“They might say, ‘I can see you were at a petrol station yesterday’, or, ‘I can see a cancelled transaction on your account.’ That convinces the victim they’re speaking to the bank, when in reality, money is being moved.”
DC Otter stressed that banks will not demand information or access over the phone, and to be “very wary” if your bank calls out of the blue, advising to wait 10 minutes after terminating the call before calling the official number of your bank’s branch.
“If in doubt, hang up, contact the bank yourself, or go into the branch,
“I’d rather that you hung up on your bank who were legitimately calling you, and then you going and checking it’s correct, rather than the other way around, and losing money.”
Victims who believe they have been targeted should contact their bank immediately, as some transactions may still be stopped if caught quickly, and then to report the matter to the police.
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How are scams evolving?
DC Otter said that the increasing sophistication of artificial intelligence (AI) has also heightened the risk posed by scammers.
Using such software can help scammers craft perfect responses, speed up their processes, and even trawl leaked data for phone numbers. “[Using AI] takes the thought process out and potentially the error process out,” he explained.
AI-generated videos and impersonations are already being used in romance fraud, and are likely to become more common, with dates and times now able to be integrated into fake videos – making authentication significantly harder.
“We can see now that people can create fake videos and pretend to be the people they’re purporting to be. And in those videos, they look extremely real.”
Another prime example of social engineering, he said, is QR codes being strategically placed in locations such as car parks, where people scan them to pay for a service. The website can look real, but could be created by fraudsters in order to steal funds.
This has not yet been reported locally, but Islanders should be aware of the risk when travelling outside of the Channel Islands, he said.
Fraudsters could also ask to download software onto your device. While the screen may appear as normal, a scammer may in reality have access to everything on an individual’s computer.
“Gone are the days where people who fell victim were elderly or vulnerable. I think now everyone is falling victim to it.”
“Be extremely vigilant. And you know, it’s your hard earned money. You don’t want to be giving it away.”
Islanders are encouraged to familiarise themselves with fraud recognition strategies, The Jersey Fraud Prevention Forum, formed by relevant local agencies helps to protect and educate residents of the dangers posed by scammers, and can offer help, advice, and support. Head to fraudprevention.je.
