Published: March 04, 2024 on our newsletter Security Fraud News & Alerts Newsletter.
A total of 13 cyber-fraudsters hijacked more than $1.8 million from customers of several financial institutions in central Philadelphia. It was a well-planned, detailed scheme to defraud trusting individuals from the money in their accounts. Fraudulent capers like this leave many wondering how this happens and how to help keep these devastating attacks from defrauding us.
This elaborate crime targeted hundreds of customers of Members 1st Federal Credit Union, Citizens Bank, Bank of America, and other financial institutions in central Pennsylvania.
One Phone Call
Two leaders of the criminal ring began this escapade by recruiting helpers on social media, with the recruits required to masquerade as bank employees. Using fake phone numbers appearing to be from the legitimate bank, calls were made to banking customers of the financial institutions.
The fraudsters then conned victims into providing their account PII. Just some of that information included login data, debit card numbers, and other sensitive content. It was enough to launch ATOs (account takeovers), effectively locking victims out of their accounts which were then controlled by the scammers. The final step? Given a piece of the haul as payment, the fraudsters cleaned out the victim's funds and transferred them to ringleader control. From there, mass purchases of retail gift cards were made to hide the crimes.
Keep It to Yourself
In this vicious world of financial fraud, the first thing to leave behind, sadly, is trust. Replacing that trust should be a healthy dose of skepticism, especially for anyone requesting account information for any reason. Remember, legitimate banks will never ask for sensitive data, especially passwords and MFA (multi-factor- authentication) codes. Be sure to use this same line of defense for any type of contact from anyone since fraudsters also use email phishing or SMS text. So, stay cyber-smart and keep your financial assets where they belong.
Keep up to date: Sign up for our Fraud alerts and Updates newsletter
Want to schedule a conversation? Please email us at advisor@nadicent.com