Online scam victim loses €50K in South Savo

Fraudsters took more than 50,000 euros from the bank account of a resident of South Savo through online payment scam on Saturday, police said in a press release on Sunday.

The incident took place when the victim responded to a text message sent to victim´s mobile phone in the evening.

The text message from the sender named “Ulosotto Oy” asked the recipient to pay debt and threatened to foreclose, unless the payment is made.

The message contained a link looked like a genuine bank link but it was fake.

When the victim clicked on the link and followed the instructions the money disappeared from the bank account.

The incident was a scam where the procedure was not followed in accordance with the operating procedures of any authority.

The police are investigating into the incident as aggravated fraud.

Police warned the people that banks or other authorities never ask for bank details or passwords and suggested not to give these to anyone.

The police also advised the people to be refrained from opening suspicious links to be sent through text message or email.

A scam can be identified if the caller's or sender's phone number is not visible and related to fund transfer.