Bank fraud: The facts

Bank fraud is defined an attempt to obtain money or property from a financial institution (such as a retail bank) or to fraudulently claim to be the representative of a financial institution. Bank fraud is widely regarded as a criminal act but is a distinctively different type of offence compared to bank robbery, which does not necessarily involve a fraud. This article gives an overview of the facts as regards to bank fraud.

Loan fraud

Bank scam Loan fraud is one of the most common ways in which scammers seek to obtain money from banks. It usually involves a bank officer controlling a business who declares bankruptcy after receiving a large loan payment. The business entity itself may not even exist and the loan may even be used to conceal the robbery of a significant sum of money from the institution. Loan application fraud typically occurs when an individual displays incorrect information about his credit history in order to receive large loans. Meanwhile, forged files can be used to hide any other thefts where the money may appear to have been used for a loan.

Bank card fraud

Card fraud usually results from of a criminal obtaining a payment card from a stolen wallet. For example, a credit card company may contact the owner of the card if it appears that the individual has been on a ‘spending spree’. Criminals will often spend all of the funds available from the card before it is reported as stolen. Other criminals copy the numbers of the credit card, which can then be used for online fraud. Some cards can also be duplicated by copying the magnetic strip of the card. Many thieves have even installed secret cameras within cash machines (ATMs) in order to reveal a person’s PIN number. This is why the government now advises people to conceal the keypads with their hands as they type in their PIN numbers. Bank card holders are strongly advised to report a stolen credit or debit card as soon as possible, in case the criminal has access to enough private information to permit them to deposit money from the individual’s account. It is mandatory that all customers banking online use a special pass-phrase that they must memorise in order to be able to access their accounts.