A Portuguese retired couple were reportedly left without around 30,000 euros after a series of transfers carried out in a few minutes, while they were on holiday abroad, in a case that is being treated as electronic fraud. According to , the episode occurred when the two residents of Leiria were in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when one of the elements’ cell phones were stolen at a station.
The disappearance of the money occurred within just 36 minutes. During this period, 14 banking operations were carried out, which practically emptied the account. According to the same source, the transfers reached a total of 30,000 euros, having been directed to other bank accounts, without authorization from the holders.
Bill was reduced to a few euros
When they managed to contact the bank, the available balance was residual. The couple says that there were only six euros left in the account after the operations carried out. The newspaper writes that, despite having acted quickly, filing a complaint with the authorities and trying to stop movements, it was not possible to prevent the money from leaving.
The injured parties guarantee that they did not authorize any of the operations. They also mention that the movements performed have unusual characteristics. The couple considers the transfers to be atypical, both in terms of the number and amounts involved, which, from their perspective, should have raised alarms.
The theft of the cell phone would have been the starting point for improper access to the bank account. After realizing what had happened, the owners tried to limit the damage. Contacts were made with authorities and financial institutions in an attempt to block ongoing operations.
Faced with the situation, the bank involved indicated that it is evaluating the case. The institution claims to follow its own procedures for this type of occurrence. Santander clarifies that it “analyzes all reported situations of allegedly unauthorized operations individually”.
Possible return is not guaranteed
The possible refund of values depends on the concrete analysis of each situation. The bank does not detail specific criteria for the final decision. The institution indicates that any refund will be assessed “on a case-by-case basis”, without guaranteeing the refund of the amount in question from the outset. The bank also emphasizes that it maintains active protection measures to prevent similar situations.
The institution guarantees that “system security and customer protection is a permanent priority”. The situation now reported joins other episodes of electronic fraud that have been reported, involving improper access to bank accounts. The case remains under analysis, while the injured parties await developments on the possible recovery of the amounts withdrawn from the account.
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