Unveiling the Hidden Dangers of Bank Account Scams

The phenomenon of bank account scams is increasingly widespread, so much so that, according to a recent report by the Bank of Italy, in the second half of 2024, the value of fraudulent transfers alone amounted to 65.5 million euros in Italy, and new rules will come into effect in October, particularly the verification of the beneficiary. According to data from a survey commissioned by Facile.it to mUp Research and Norstat, over 2 million Italians were victims of bank account-related scams last year, with a total estimated economic damage of more than 970 million euros. But what tools are most used by criminals? Which demographic groups are most affected? And how do victims behave after falling into the trap? Who are the preferred victims of criminals? Contrary to popular belief, the survey revealed that it is not the elderly who most frequently fall victim to bank account scams or attempts, but rather younger consumers. With a national average of 4.7%, the percentage reaches 7.3% in the 25-34 age group and even 9.6% among 18-24 year-olds. According to the survey, the most used channels include fake emails (45.2% of cases) and fake call centers (33.3%). In almost 1 out of 4 cases (24.7%), an SMS was used as a Trojan horse, while in 21.5% of cases, a fake website was used. But how do victims behave after being lured by fraudsters? Unfortunately, more than 1 in 3 (39.8%) choose not to report the incident. The main reasons given to justify this behavior were that the economic damage was low (29.7%) and the feeling of being naive for falling into the trap (24.3%). But how can scams be recognized and thwarted? Facile.it has compiled a brief guide with five tips to avoid falling victim to online scams when using a bank account: 1) Beware of Phishing If you receive an email from your bank asking for bank account information such as user and password for home banking, you should not only ignore this communication but also delete it immediately. It is a “phishing” attempt, a technique used by cybercriminals to deceitfully extract personal information. Remember: the bank will never ask for personal information via email, nor access data and passwords related to your bank account. 2) Activate SMS notifications also for the bank account Not everyone knows that many credit institutions offer the possibility to activate automatic notifications (via SMS or app) that alert the customer in case of account movements. This applies not only to the use of credit or debit cards but also to any other operation, such as a transfer, a direct debit, or other direct debits. This way, you can be alerted in real-time and, in case of suspicious operations, notify the bank and request to block the account. 3) Pay attention to the sites where you enter your bank account details Always check that the site you are operating on has the HTTPS prefix in the address; in this case, the information sent to the platform is encrypted and thus protected from potential intruders. Furthermore, it is important to carry out such operations only when connected to the internet from a secure network (home or mobile line) and never from public networks, as there may be malicious individuals capable of intercepting and stealing the data. 4) Two checks are better than one Since 2019, a system known as “Strong Customer Authentication” has been in place, requiring the credit institution to perform a double identity verification of the user (using two or more independent factors) before approving the requested operations; the goal is to minimize risks for consumers. 5) The fake deposit scam One of the scams that have been increasingly talked about lately is the “fake deposit” scam: in this case, the victim is an unsuspecting citizen who, for example, chooses to sell an item online through common buying and selling platforms. The scammer pretends to purchase the item and, when defining the payment method, convinces the seller of the existence of a new procedure that, via ATM, allows for shortening the time and receiving the money directly into their bank account. The problem is that with this procedure, the money, instead of being deposited into the seller’s account, is actually withdrawn from the seller and credited to the scammer’s account or prepaid card.