The online scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and instant transfers could increase the risk that fraud victims will find it more complex, or even impossible, to recover their money. It was she who raised the alarm Lisa Di Berardinodeputy commissioner at the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office, during a press conference organized by ING Italia: «If all the banks transform ordinary bank transfers into instant ones, it will be really difficult to protect citizens from online fraud: it will, in fact, be much more difficult to block suspicious payments in favor of potential scammers”. Di Berardino underlines that theabsence of a “cooling period”or a period of suspension before the final confirmation of the transfer, makes the protection of users rather difficult: «A cooling period is necessary, a period of suspension of the sending of money which allows the respective anti-fraud departments to carry out the appropriate checks and possibly block the payment. Whenever possible. Another rule that needs to be changed in the banking world is the current need to request consent from the person receiving the transfer, and therefore from the fraudster in our case, so that the illegitimately transacted money is returned to the victim, despite there being sufficient evidence to consider the transaction fraudulent , not least the complaint from the victim himself.”
Why instant transfers could be a risk
The speed of immediate transfers is undoubtedly an advantage for those making legitimate payments, but it becomes a double-edged sword should you encounter scammers. While for ordinary transfers the banks’ anti-fraud departments have the time necessary to intervene and block any suspicious payments, with instant transfers this action time is drastically reduced, making it difficult – if not completely impossible – to recover the sums paid to of cybercriminals.
Once the instant bank transfer has been made, in fact, the only way to recover the money is to obtain the recipient’s consent. It goes without saying that, if a bank transfer was made to a scammer, it will not be possible to recover the sum paid to him. You understood correctly: even in the event that the victim has clear evidence of the scam and has filed a complaint with the competent authorities, the money may not be returned without the “collaboration” of the scammer.
What are the main types of online scams to watch out for
As things currently stand, therefore, if you need to make an instant bank transfer for the online purchase of a certain product or service, it is a good idea to learn how to move adequately in the digital world by knowing the main types of scams to watch out for.
- Spoofing: it is a particularly effective technique (just think that 15% of banking scams occur in this way), which consists in disguising the telephone number from which they call, making it appear identical to that of the potential victims’ bank thanks to the use of software that they allow you to imitate the official numbers of credit institutions, thus convincing victims that they are talking to a real bank employee. The scammers then exploit the naivety of their victims by making them believe that there are anomalies on the account and this is how they convince them to provide their personal data to solve the (clearly non-existent) security problems. To defend yourself from this technique (which can sometimes also be perpetrated through “classic” SMS) it is good to remember that banks never ask for personal information that they already own and, obviously, never ask to intervene directly to block a transaction.
- Phishing: with this method, scammers usually try to obtain personal or financial data by sending e-mails or SMS containing links that refer to sites similar to those of banks or that allow the installation of malware, which is then used to monitor the user’s activities and steal your personal and banking data. To protect yourself, it is essential diversify passwords for each servicechange them frequently e do not click on suspicious links.
- Money mule: this technique involves convincing potential victims to transfer money between bank accounts in exchange for money. This process is often linked to illicit operations can «transform unsuspecting account holders into accomplices of illicit operations», as Lisa Di Berardino points out. It is therefore important never agree to transfer money on behalf of strangers.
