DUBAI: A Dubai man has lost over Dh20,000 after his bank account was hacked as many as 60 times in a matter of a week last month.
Filipino Rosauro Agustin, 44, says he had no idea of the fraudulent transactions until he checked his account online the night he was unable to withdraw any cash in five attempts on two different ATM machines.
“I received no SMS for any of the 60 withdrawals of roughly $100 each. I had no inkling till I realised there was not enough money in my account,” says Agustin, from Manila.
Reality dawns
“On November 25, I tried to withdraw Dh5,000 from the ATM but the machine declined the payment saying I had gone overlimit. Assuming it was a glitch, I moved to another ATM. However, when I got the same result I got really worried,” recalls the father of two. “I rushed home to check my account online and froze after what I saw. My account was left with just Dh1,200. I instantly knew something was wrong as my salary had been credited only two days back and I had also saved up for Christmas,” says Agustin, who earns around Dh8,000 as an accountant in a Dubai-based logistics firm.
“I just couldn’t believe my eyes. There were 60 transactions I had no idea of,” recalls the distraught man who has been living in Dubai with his family since 2006.
XPRESS has a copy of Agustin’s bank statements that show these transactions were made in Vietnam, in places like Ho Chi Minh and Bình Phuoc province.
Agustin says he has never been to those parts of the South East Asian region.
“The bank said they would get back to me within three weeks but in reality I am yet to hear from them and it’s almost going to be a month. Our Christmas plans have been ruined for no fault of mine as I have had to borrow money from friends to survive these difficult days. All this has caused me and my family immense stress and I don’t know how long it will be before I get back my hard-earned money, if at all.” A comment from the bank was not immediately available.
You Speak
Have you been a victim of fraud transactions?
Write to us at:
editor@xpress4me.com
sms 5101
