A BANK customer was left in despair after she ended up losing more than $80,000 from her account.
Anjira, from Ontario, Canada, received a call and thought she was talking to someone legitimate as they knew her details.
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She received a call out of the blue someone pretending to be from the Canada Revenue Agency’s investigation team, as reported by CTV News.
Anjira said the man on the other end of the line knew her name and banking information.
The caller claimed that a probe investigating Anjira was about to be launched.
She was then given a series of orders to follow.
Anjira was told to withdraw money before depositing it into a cryptocurrency machine.
Within three days, she had withdrawn $86,000 from her accounts.
“I thought they were helping me right, to freeze my accounts, that they would want to protect me,” she said.
She was urged to keep the reason for the withdrawals under wraps.
Anjira has been left devastated by the saga.
“I’m crying with the bank. I’m crying with other things,” she said.
Anjira said she reported the scam to cops and with her banks.
But she has to pay the money back.
The CRA has warned of scams involving callers who purport to work for the tax agency.
Fraudsters reportedly threaten unsuspecting victims with an arrest warrant.
Taxpayers should not give scammers any information.
The agency has warned it doesn’t accept payments via cryptocurrency.
Top tips on avoiding scams from a bank
As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam:
- Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
- Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify who has contacted you.
- Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
- Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
- Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
- Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
- Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.
Source: Chase.com
Scammers can also request information via text message and recipients should never share any details.
Fraudsters can send phishing links that take customers to a page where they are asked to submit their personal details.
The CRA never asks for taxpayers’ Social Security numbers.
Major banking chains including Wells Fargo and Chase have also warned about scams.
Scammers are becoming more sophisticated and use tools to clone voices when requesting payments.
Fraudsters are also known for sounding urgent although some can sound convincing on the phone.
This is a trap designed to lure victims into a false sense of security.
Bank customers should never return money straightaway if someone claims to have sent an accidental payment.
They should also be wary of things that sound too good to be true, such as free giveaways.
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