Money Remittance Fraud and Scams (2022)

The pandemic has brought financial difficulties to the poorest of the poor and even to the economy of first-world countries. It is no wonder that if there are plenty of money transfer scams then, there is more and more money remittance fraud now. We don’t you to become a victim of fraud, so this article will help you become more familiar with the latest money remittance fraud and scams that fraudsters do to get money from unsuspecting individuals.

Types of Overseas Money Remittance Fraud

Account Takeover

Account takeover scam is a form of online identity theft. Criminals will steal your personal information from your online accounts. Since they have your username and password, they can do different things with your account. For example, they may take loans and make online purchases using their credit card.

Scammers can steal your account information through data breaches. They may also use malware and viruses to steal information from your devices. Another way they get your account information is by phishing done via different things such as SMS, fraud websites, emails, chat conversations, suspicious phone applications, and many more.

To avoid being a victim of an account takeover scam, make sure not to open any malicious emails and websites. You should not also give sensitive information to people you don’t know though they say they are working for banks and other reputable institutions.

2. Love Scam

Online dating has been more prevalent nowadays. With a swipe right, you can potentially find the love of your life on Tinder. While this proves that love knows no boundaries, the problem is that fraudsters are online long-distance dating to scam other people. Romance scam grew about 50% more from 2019 to 2020, showing that this has become one of the most effective money remittances scam up until now.

Love scammers will create fake profiles on dating sites or apps and social media accounts to sweep you off your feet. Their goal is to make contact, build trust, and make their victim fall madly in love with them to the point that their victim will be willing to send them money as proof of their love or to strengthen their “relationship.”

As shown in the latest Netflix documentary, The Tinder Swindler, love scammers will lie about themselves. They may create a profile of who they are to make them more appealing to you. Once they’ve earned your trust and your heart, they will start to ask you to lend them money for different reasons. For example, they may ask you to send them money which they will use to pay for a plane ticket, medical expenses, visa, or customs fees. They may ask you to wire them cash or send them reload cards or gift cards since these options allow them to get your cash quickly while remaining anonymous.

To avoid becoming prey to these vicious criminals, follow this simple advice:

• Don’t send money or gifts to a lover you haven’t met in person.
• Stop communicating with them if you think that your “lover” is a romance scammer.
• If you’ve already introduced them to your family and friends, let them know about your suspicions so that they too can never be victimized.
  • Run good background research about your “lover.” Lastly, if you’ve proven that s/he is a scammer, you may report that person to the police.

3. CRA Scam

Scammers are now levelling up too! They may pretend to be Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) employees calling you and other Canadians to trick them into paying fake debts. They tactic is to scare you into paying a fake debt immediately by threatening you they will arrest you if you fail to settle it. They may even inquire about your personal information. CRA scammers often target the elderly because they are more likely to pay immediately and give their information without second-guessing the person on the other end of the line.

Remember, legit CRA employees will only ask for a number of your personal information when you are the one who called them. They will use these to confirm your identity as part of their protocol. But they will never call you to ask for your information.

Scammers pretending to be CRA employees will use their phone number instead of the CRA office phone. They will ask you to send immediate payment in Bitcoin or gift cards, and they will order you not to talk to anyone about the matter. If these red flags are consistent with the CRA pretender calling you, drop the phone and don’t answer any call from them anymore.

Must Read - What is a remittance?

4. Software Help Scam

Have you experienced receiving a call from someone claiming to be a software company's technical support? Or did you receive a subscription email telling you that you have issues with your account subscription? If you’ve experienced these, you have, then there’s a high chance that the one who’s contacting you is a scammer. These fraudsters may use software to make it easier for them to scam others.

Scammers who use this trick will require you to pay for unnecessary and fraudulent technical support services. They may even get information about your sensitive information such as bank details, personal information, usernames, and others. To make this fraud believable, a technical support scammer may display a legitimate support number from a trusted company to earn your trust. They may even request you to install software or apps to your gadgets that are rigged with software that will help them steal your private information and data.

You can detect a software help scam if a major company contacts you. Remember, communication with major companies has to be initiated by you. So, if you receive any emails, texts, or phone calls that sound suspicious or too good to be true, it is better if you don’t entertain them. Delete or ignore these calls and messages.

What to Do if You are Scammed?

If you think the person trying to connect with you is a scammer or you have been scammed, these are the steps you need to do:

• Gather all information about the suspected fraud.
• Report the incident to the local law enforcement in your area.
• Report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or the Competition Bureau
• Report the incident to the financial institution that transferred the money to the suspected fraud.
• Notify the website where the scam took place (if applicable)
• Place flags on your accounts and check your credit report.

RemitBee is A Secure Online FinTech Service Provider

RemitBee offers money transfer services to over 50 countries. As a service provider operating 100% online, we assure you that your data, identity, and money are safe with us. As a matter of fact, we store your information with the highest level of security, and we won’t share your data with anyone without your approval.

To provide the highest level of security to our customers, we encrypt all your data within a session when you log in to your RemitBee account using a digital certificate. We use secure servers and HTTPS to make sure your transactions are private, and we also use unique hash and bank-level encryption.

Create an account with RemitBee and see for yourself how our money remittance service is not just affordable and convenient but most importantly, highly secured.

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