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Victim of ATM Bank Fraud Ask Banks to be More Supportive

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BU has updated the following submission at the request of a BU family member who wishes to remain anonymous.

Horace Cobham, head of bankers association
Horace Cobham, head of bankers association

Why have none of the banks who had their ATM’s compromised over the weekend notified their customers in an official capacity  – whether it be a statement via media or using our contact details (phone or e-mail) – and give them some indication of when they will be getting their stolen monies back?

People are going to the bank themselves to report the matter, and we are given forms (a standard dispute form more or less) to fill out by a bank rep, and then we are being told to go to the police station to report the matter (which we did). The police are only able to take your complaint and tell you that the matter is being investigated.

Due to the number of people affected by this crime, a special customer service desk should be set up promptly at all the banks with one or more staff members (probably someone more senior than junior) to deal specifically and ONLY with this matter. It is almost like business as normal at the bank, you go in to report that your money was stolen and you more or less have to wait like everyone else. You have to deal with an overwhelmed customer services rep who is being bombarded with numerous complaints and doing the best he/she can to assist, but is obviously overwhelmed by the nature and capacity of it all (not their fault). Some people had virtually everything stolen and only have $20 left on their accounts.

The investigation I am told could take weeks, and then what?

When are the victims of this crime going to get their money bank?  Someone who works in law enforcement in the UK told me that when this type of crime occurs over there (and it does fairly regularly) the bank gives you your money back in 48 hours.

All I heard so far is a bank official tell the media that they are aware of the crime and it is being investigated and they are treating the matter seriously, but they are not panicking. We are not asking anyone to panic, but some of us do need our money back sooner rather than later because we have responsibilities and bills to pay.

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94 responses to “Victim of ATM Bank Fraud Ask Banks to be More Supportive”

  1. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    This is definitely not good enough, and just like it is not the fault of the customer reps, it is also not the fault of the customers, the banks are careless, negligent and lack adequate security, guys from all the way in Bulgaria can just waltz into Barbados and just waltz away making off with all the money in the ATMs that is linked to customer’s bank accounts.

    The banks should just be replacing the money stolen from their systems without question, they would know the accounts that have been affected, everything is electronic………what a disaster.

    The question now is, exactly how many Bulgarians were involved and for how long have they been stealing money from banks in Barbados, who directed them to Barbados in the first place, who else is involved……….??

    Funny this should happen now, i had a couple dollars in an account in Bim and last week my mind just said to take that the money out even though i had to pay charges for withdrawing the money from such a distance……..banks are not such a great idea after all.

  2. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    By the way, the money in the banks is insured by Lloyd’s of London, so if the banks in Barbados are telling you that you have to wait weeks for your money, they are lying and trying to turn you around………48 hours for the return of your money to your bank account sounds about right. I know how they like to lie and deprive people of their money in Barbados……..stand your ground.

  3. David Avatar
    David

    @Well Well

    You need to take a deep breath.

    Let us begin here.

    What is Skimming? BU understand this is the nature of the fraud.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skimming_(fraud)

    On 9 October 2013 16:39, Barbados Underground

  4. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    David…….earlier this year in Toronto i saw first hand where card readers were being used on passerby’s pockets, handbags anywhere there were credit cards/debit cards, these card readers were then used to access the accounts and clean them out, since then security has been upgraded to deter thieves from successfully accessing ATMs and customer accounts using card readers…………i know the banks across the world hold seminars and symposiums on these very same crimes and ways banks can upgrade their security, i attended a few………….what you are trying to tell me is that banks in Barbados are not able to stop skimmers from stealing client’s money?? or that there is no way the banks in Barbados can protect themselves against skimming?? these are not the first skimmers, we knew about skimming since the 90s.

  5. Stevenjules Avatar
    Stevenjules

    Customer service does not exist in Barbados…..everything takes a long time….

  6. David Avatar
    David

    @Well Well

    It seems you have no idea how skimming is perpetrated. Bear in mind the banks affected are branches of international banks. Also bear in mind Barbados has a soft currency. Why would anyone expect Eastern Europeans to steal Barbados dollars?

    @ Stevenjules

    Agree with the author of this submission that affected customers should be treated royally by the institutions. They should be fast tracked.

    On 9 October 2013 16:57, Barbados Underground

  7. Peltdownman Avatar
    Peltdownman

    Maybe they’re waiting for you to ask for a loan to cover the losses “meantime”.

  8. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    David they were caught with Barbados dollars where were they going to launder it? Another Caribbean island?

  9. alvin cummins Avatar
    alvin cummins

    @Well Well
    I am disappointed in your comments. Barbados is not immune to the action of international thieves or scam artists.Every International Bank, which are the only ones we have (thanks to OSA selling our only indigenous bank) have their protocols for dealing with these things. We cannot make our own protocols. Does any one know how many accounts were skimmed? Don’t behave as if there were thousands of accounts at each bank that necessitates the stationing of a special customer rep at every bank. The perpetrators have been caught, within twenty four hours (even less from what we know, which points to a great deal of efficiency by our law enforcement officers (at the airport), so instead of throwing darts toss some bouquets insteqad.

  10. David Avatar
    David

    @@islandgal

    A good question.

  11. stanley Avatar
    stanley

    Try to be patient Customers ! The Banks involved would certainly respond to you as they get to the bottom of the alleged reports , Common sense must prevail at this time to allow an accurate investigation to exonerate many things but if you or any person have the feeling that they should know before hand just go into your respective Bank and ask to have a cordial interview with the Manager , or make an appointment to see him / her to bring you up to date of your account .Sam

  12. David Avatar
    David

    It should be relatively easy for the banks to identify the fraudulent transactions. People need to eat.

  13. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    David | October 9, 2013 at 1:06 PM |

    @Well Well

    It seems you have no idea how skimming is perpetrated. Bear in mind the banks affected are branches of international banks. Also bear in mind Barbados has a soft currency. Why would anyone expect Eastern Europeans to steal Barbados dollars?

    ___________________________________________

    David……..i think you may be missing the point a little, the banks lost the money, no one else, don’t care if the banks are international or not, they lost the money, in addition, Barbados’ money is worth squat outside of Barbados unless it’s changed into foreign currency before you leave Barbados, so all this about Bulgarians leaving all the way in Eastern Europe to steal Bajan currency that is worth 30c in the US, 16c in Canada and 33c in England per dollar is beyond laughable, something stinks to high heaven…….until the authorities come clean, it’s time for the banks to put the money back in the customer’s accounts.

  14. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    alvin cummins | October 9, 2013 at 1:56 PM |

    @Well Well
    I am disappointed in your comments. Barbados is not immune to the action of international thieves or scam artists.Every International Bank, which are the only ones we have (thanks to OSA selling our only indigenous bank) have their protocols for dealing with these things.
    ______________________________

    Alvin……you are a little off here, every bank on the island has sent officers to conferences, symposiums and seminars, in other words they have been trained in the areas of upgrading their security systems continually to be one step ahead of thieves or none of the banks worldwide would be able to keep money in their vaults, the thieves would continually empty the vaults, ATMs etc, it is an ongoing and continuous process and one cannot become complacent….these protocols that you are well aware of are made by international banking institutions and are continually upgraded and passed on to banks worldwide and they are expected to be adhered to in the time frame supplied……As far as i know, we are yet to hear the authorities say how the alleged perps were caught, see their faces on tv or told how many got away and how much more money was stolen…….having said that, the banks lost the money, they should credit the customer’s accounts forthwith…….

  15. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    Perhaps a bit of ‘inside trading” have helped these Bulgarians.

  16. BAFBFP Avatar
    BAFBFP

    I missed this story … Wah happen ..?

  17. robert ross Avatar
    robert ross

    In broad terms, isn’t Well Well agreeing with the writer of the post and offering moral support. I find it difficult not to register sympathy with what the post writer is saying and so also with Well Well.

    Yes, of course, someone did very well here to track down these people but that doesn’t affect what the post writer is saying – which is that in times of crisis the big boys who know need to reach out to the little ones who have been stitched up and. on the face of it, have lost their money. It’s the leitmotif, surely, of the ‘caring’ bank in whom trust has been placed. And hard-nosed it’s simply good customer relations.

  18. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    These Bulgarians of Caucasian descent must have had a Barbadian of mutt descent assisting them.

  19. David Avatar
    David

    @islandgal

    Bit why take the money out of the country?

  20. David Avatar
    David

    Here is a link which shows ATM fraud as a result of skimming on the rise globally.

    http://www.atmmarketplace.com/article/210573/FICO-stats-show-surprise-an-increase-in-ATM-skimming

  21. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    David perhaps someone was going to bring it back in or collect in the bathroom.

  22. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    http://zeenews.india.com/news/maharashtra/atm-fraud-case-mumbai-police-zero-in-on-2-bulgarians_857251.html

    http://www.sandybecherlaw.com/newspaper-articles-and-recent-news-of-attorney-sandy-becher/attorney-sandy-becher-is-involved-in-the-bulgarian-atm-scam

    http://www.bijc.eu/en/ivestigations.php?contentId=62

  23. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    http://sofiaglobe.com/2012/10/24/bulgarian-pleads-guilty-in-chicago-scam-fraud-case/

  24. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/pair-bulgarian-nationals-busted-300k-atm-skimming-scam-article-1.978962

  25. Konkieman Avatar
    Konkieman

    This is a joke. In the US, I had a couple of occasions where suspect charges were made to a credit card, and another time money was withdrawn from my account. It was fixed immediately when I reported if. This is the banks shoddy security issue. It is their responsibility to protect their customers.

  26. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Perhaps the authorities should have been on alert about these Bulgarian scams occurring globally. After all how many Bulgarian Tourist do we get visiting Barbados? Heard that the Turks are also into this scam as well.

  27. David Avatar
    David

    @islandgal

    Good point. It shows how all the authorities must work in concert at all times. As the CoB CEO stated last night one can’t eliminate fraud but seek to minimize it.

  28. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    http://www.independent.co.ug/business/business-news/6437-atm-fraud-is-your-money-safe

  29. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Why didn’t these crooks go to Guyana or Jamaica? Dem money too low in value?

  30. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @David the blogmaster asked “Why would anyone expect Eastern Europeans to steal Barbados dollars?”

    My reply: Because the Eastern Europeans can exchange the “soft” Barbados dollars for hard currencies at cambio’s in London, New York, Toronto, etc. Granted the exchange rate is bad, but if they have stolen a few million why would they care if they lose a few thousand on the exchange?

    I’ve done it myself. Not large amounts though.

    And never, never with stolen money. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  31. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    Then banks are going to find a way to stick their customers with this loss.

    The heist was entirely the fault of the thieves and the banks.

    But it is the customers who are going to be royally screwed.

    The banksters are wicked as shite.

    The thieves too.

  32. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    It is reported that these men visited Barbados earlier this year.

    Earlier this year I went to buy $50 of gas on a Friday evening. I had just got paid a few hours before so I know that money was there. My card was declined. I called the bank. They told me that my card data had been compromised, but the never explained how or when. I was without the use of my card form the Friday until the Tuesday when the bank was able to issue a new one.

    I’ll bet anything that these thieves made a preliminary visit to Barbados in June or July and carried out a trial mini scam.

    Almost certainly they belong to a large gang and if the banks don’t watch it they will be scammed again in a few days or weeks, and again, and again. The gangsters are likely citizens of multiple first world countries, and hold very “good” “non-Myrie” passports and at the risk of being called racist, they are likely Roma.

    The British don’t call them travellers for nothing.

  33. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @islandgal246 October 9, 2013 at 10:08 PM “Why didn’t these crooks go to Guyana or Jamaica?”

    Because islandgal, it is not possible to transport one million Jamaican or Guyanese dollars unless you have a container and a ship.

    And these guys need to travel fast, so they need to travel by plane.

  34. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    I am surprised that neither David, Well Well not islandgal246 seem to kno that Barbados currency is readily exchanged outside of Barbados, albiet at a lousy exchang rate.

    But who cares about the exchange rate if you have a million Barbados dollars of stolen money.

    If I were the thieves (and I am not) I’d exchange the million Barbados for $300,000 USD and go home happy.

    Wha’ happen. I din’ wuk for um. And $300,000 USD is not bad for a week’s tiefi’g work

  35. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Simple Simon…..I know it is illegal to take Barbados currency abroad in any amount so I don’t bother to.

  36. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @David | October 9, 2013 at 7:58 PM |islandgal Bit why take the money out of the country?

    But David and island; thieves got wives and children to support too, and mortgages to pay, and groceries to buy, and school fees, and etc. and etc.

    And David if their wives and children are in Bulgaria isn’t it reasonable for them t take the money there?

    Were they supposed to take it to St. Lucia and let their wives and children starve in Bulgaria?

    Stupseee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  37. David Avatar
    David

    @islandgal

    To your point about Bulgarians being allowed to enter the country. One would have reasonably assumed that the immigration department has ‘triggers’ updated to their computer software that alerts when visitors from ‘funny’ countries enter Barbados. Some credit still needs to go to the authorities for catching 2 out of possibly 3 thieves.

  38. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    FYI………………..way back in June dennnn!…Congrat Immigration RBPF

    ATM fraud case: Mumbai Police zero in on 2 Bulgarians
    Tag: Mumbai, Fraud, Axis Bank, Police, India, Bulgaria
    Last Updated: Monday, June 24, 2013, 08:06
    Mumbai: The Mumbai Police, who are probing a recent ATM skimming fraud here, have established the identity of two foreign nationals involved in the case.

    The duo was identified from the CCTV footage of the Axis Bank’s ATM located outside the Maharashtra police headquarters in south Mumbai, a senior police officer said.

    Sources said the two suspects were Bulgarians and they had installed a ‘skimmer’ in the ATM machine.

    Earlier this month, a case was registered against unknown persons at Colaba police station under IT Act and IPC after 37 people, including 15 policemen, fell victim to card-cloning fraud to the tune of Rs 15.47 lakh, in which their money was withdrawn in Greece.

    The police have recorded the statements of all the victims in the case.

  39. Andrew Nehaul Avatar
    Andrew Nehaul

    Barbados dollars (BBD) and EC dollars (XCD) can be bought/sold in Sweden at any Forex office. Forex offices in other EU countries probably do the same. Therefore, the crooks would have had no problem in converting these BBD to EURO. Welcome to globalisation!

  40. David Avatar
    David

    Thanks Andrew, it means our Immigration and Police need to put systems in place to more effectively manage this threat. It will be hard because the mindset is that the threat is from drugs and human trafficking.

  41. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    Konkieman | October 9, 2013 at 9:35 PM |

    This is a joke. In the US, I had a couple of occasions where suspect charges were made to a credit card, and another time money was withdrawn from my account. It was fixed immediately when I reported if. This is the banks shoddy security issue. It is their responsibility to protect their customers.
    _______________________-

    Konkieman…………..you are clearly speaking from experience, no customer(s) should be waiting for any banks/police investigations about money the banks lost belonging to the customers, in my experience the customer’s account is ALWAYS credited forthwith once the banks lost your money, but we have people who would be more than happy to see the customers in Barbados who lost their hard-earned money because of the banks carelessness accept third world, banana republic treatment, lies and a long wait that they do not deserve and should never accept.

  42. PhilOfficer Avatar
    PhilOfficer

    Knock Knock
    Who’s there?
    Leroy
    Leroy Who?
    Leroy the Bulgarian
    I thought you wuz CLICO?
    And your point is…?

  43. Peltdownman Avatar
    Peltdownman

    This is for sure an Eastern Eurpoean organised crime gang, and don’t expect to get any information from the two arrested -it’s literally more than their lives are worth to spill the beans. These people are nasty, hear?

  44. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    ‘The banksters are wicked as shite.’

    The banksters are also thieves, make no mistake.

    ______________________________________-

    Simple……..what i was told is that the countries i mentioned yesterday Canada, England and US, do change the Bajan currency for pennies on the dollar, since i have changed the currency there, but other European countries don’t even recognize the currency, but that is still alot of Bajan money to try changing even in countries that do recognize the currency.

  45. Anon Avatar
    Anon

    @ David
    One would have reasonably assumed that the immigration department has ‘triggers’ updated to their computer software that alerts when visitors from ‘funny’ countries enter Barbados.

    I am sure you are aware that Bulgaria is a member of the European Union. Jamaica is pure bait when compared with the EU.

  46. David Avatar
    David

    @Anon

    So we have surrendered?

  47. David Avatar
    David

    Interesting to hear the Barbados Public Workers advertising on the radio today for customers who are affected to call their office as soon as possible.

  48. alvin cummins Avatar
    alvin cummins

    @David,
    isn’t this the best way of knowing who is affected?
    @well well.”customers in Barbados who lost their hard-earned money because of the banks carelessness accept third world, banana republic treatment, lies and a long wait that they do not deserve and should never accept…” Why is it that you are so suspicious of everything “official”..politicians, lawyers, bank officials etc. The scam artists from the information published used specific techniques to get around the “protection” installed by the bank. There was no “carelessness” involved.

  49. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    I know a Barbadian who works very closely with internet fraud busters. In any case, the banks should reimburse people immediately on discovering their lost. Where is the regulator? Is the FSC asleep?

  50. Victor Avatar
    Victor

    What would you do if you were a tourist visiting Barbados with your money? Using most cards at the ATM would cost fees and maybe an extra exchange fee. Having a Bajan bank account might seem like a good idea, no charges etc. But oops, Bulgarian burglars might close down your card just before you went home. Deal with that and wait ages for it to be sorted out Bring £ or US$ cash spend it in the shops? Still a charge on the exchange rate in the shops. Robbery of your hotel room if you have cash. A pre-paid traveller card? Expensive load-on charges.
    Can we think of any other new ideas to stop tourists visiting Barbados instead of just going to an EU destination or the US? Now, if you are carrying a card upon your person, you need to enclose it in a full metal jacket which inhibits scamming! If you were a Bulgarian burglar you could buy jewels, “tax free” ha ha and tuck them into your undies. Yet, how do you know they are not fake? In other words, let’s freak out the tourists!

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