There are many ways for criminals to obtain money illegally. For the majority of the population, cybercrime is elusive. Fraud methods are often sophisticated and cleverly organized, which is why many Germans still refrain from using online banking today.
Indeed, today, a lot of things are done digitally, but there is also an old-fashioned way to transfer your savings abroad.
Hacking, phishing, social engineering – all of this is clearly superfluous in case of paper bank transfer fraud. In this case, the attackers simply deposit a paper transfer receipt at the bank. just transfer money from your account
By doing so, they simply transfer money from your account to theirs. More often than not, this is done overseas to make it easier to cover your tracks. For this kind of scam, the scammers don’t need a complex plan, they need three things:
Your IBAN name and your BIC signature
The most difficult thing in this promotion is the signature, but the scammers don’t even have to forge it. Why is this going unnoticed?
One of the reasons may be the banks’ lack of staff to verify signatures. Moreover, the Consumer Protection Association states the following: “In the case of small amounts, you can even sign with Mickey Mouse, and everything will be fine.”
How to protect yourself?
To protect yourself from this scam, you very rarely have to give out your bank details. This also includes always having a wallet with you – two photos of the front and back of your EC card provide the thief with all the information they need.
If you still make transfers only via the Internet or at the counter of a bank, you should block paper transfers. Thus, the bank will not process payment orders received under this form.
To do this, call your financial institution and inquire about the possibilities. Sberbanks offer this step directly in Kundenkonto in Online-Banking. Transfers via the terminal and in agencies are always possible.
If this option is not suitable for you, check your account statements carefully so that, if necessary, you can immediately notice fraud. It is best to check them at least once a week.
Your money is protected
But there is good news: in the event of an attempted scam, you usually get your money back. Banks are required to do this, and without commission – these financial institutions are insured by the Liability Fund (Haftungsfond).
According to the judgment of the Regional Court of Dessau (2014), you can only bear the costs if your signature has been precisely falsified.
In fairness, it should be noted that not only individuals are suffering, but also medium and large companies. Here, fraudsters rely on the fact that the additional transfer will not be noticed in the accounting department – accordingly, employees should carefully monitor small amounts that cannot be allocated during the transfer. Otherwise, the money is wasted.
Banks have methods of protection
Some banks have taken measures against this type of fraud. In particular, many financial institutions no longer have external mailboxes for money transfers.
In addition, in a number of banks, receipts can only be obtained at the counter of an employee, so they are no longer freely available at the branch.
For larger amounts, bank staff also check transfer forms more carefully, and some institutions use software to verify signatures.
Interestingly, the banks themselves very rarely bring charges against fraudsters, as prosecuting them would cost financial institutions a pretty penny.
