The Popular Savings Bank of Cuba has issued a scam alert in recent hours, warning users regarding an increase in fraud attempts.
The scams are aimed at people who participate in the purchase and sale of MLC (Freely Convertible Currency) or CUP (Cuban pesos) through non-face-to-face contacts, such as phone calls or chats on social networks.
Mode of operation of scammers in Cuba
Scammers are sending text messages pretending to be the official PagoXmovil service. In these messages, the victim is assured that the requested operation has already been carried out, which induces them to carry out the transfer and fall into the trap.
It is important to remember that all official Transfermóvil SMS are sent from the PagoXmovil service and never from a private mobile number. If you receive an SMS from PagoXmovil that comes from a private number, do not make the transfer and contact Transfermóvil to verify the operation.
Tips from Transfermóvil to avoid being a victim of scams
The banking institution shared tips on how to avoid being a victim of scams:
- Do not share your data with strangers or untrustworthy people, whether on social networks, groups or through private messages.
- Do not transfer money to strangers in exchange for nothing.
- Do not make payments through links without knowing the destination and details of the same.
Data such as the name of the card owner, expiration date, PIN and access codes, card with the matrix, private data from PagoXmovil messages, and identity card (number, folio and volume) should not be shared.
Neither ETECSA (Transfermóvil), nor XETID (EnZona), nor CIMEX (TuEnvío), nor banks or other entities, ask for this personal data in direct contacts with people. If someone asks you for them on behalf of any of these entities, they may be the victim of a scam or fraud.
The “star” application of electronic commerce in Cuba also reminds users that “PAGOxMOVIL on most phones does NOT allow you to answer or make calls, since it is an informative SMS, a product of the operation that was carried out.”
CUSTOMERS OF THE CUBAN BANK SPEAK ABOUT SCAMS
The BPA received several comments on its institutional profile. “They almost did it to me: they sent you the entire Transfermóvil message and everything,” wrote one person.
“A friend was scammed of 1000 MLC, and in person (the scammer was very shameless, sitting in her living room). He went to the police with his identity card and they did not act on the incident, despite giving it to him on a plate,” said another user.
“This scam has been circulating for more than a year and now the bank finds out? What efficiency! Do you know how else they scam? Even if you are in person, they give someone else’s card and when you transfer, they never deposit the change in CUP or MLC via transfer. At that time, the person who is showing his face says that the person who is going to transfer is someone else and the transfer never arrives,” someone else explained.
It is important to be alert to the increase in scams in Cuba, especially in the purchase and sale operations of MLC and CUP. That is why Banco Popular de Ahorro (BPA) has issued this notice to warn users regarding these fraudulent practices that are carried out through phone calls, chats on social networks or even in person.
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