(Trinidad Guardian) Over the past week, about 15 customers of Scotiabank’s Sangre Grande branch had thousands of dollars stolen from their accounts after their cards were skimmed.
According to reports, some customers were notified by the bank while others, noticing the money was missing went to the bank yesterday morning to query the missing money.
One affected customer, who asked to remain anonymous, said the bank’s management presented customers with Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) to sign before refunding the stolen funds.
The customer said she was initially made aware of the theft when a bank representative called her home.
She later learnt over $10,000 had been withdrawn from her account over two days using a duplicate of her ATM card.
She said after visiting the bank, she realised the issue was not unique to her.
“I saw several other people who were all there for the same thing, including a pensioner who was very confused by his missing funds,” she said.
The woman called on local banks to be more vigilant with their customers’ money, saying this kind of incident has become too prevalent.
In response to questions sent by Guardian Media, Communications Manager, Cindy Mohammed said the banking industry continues to face attempts of fraudulent activity involving debit and credit cards.
“ The safety and security of our customer accounts and information is a top priority at Scotiabank, and is a responsibility we take very seriously,” Mohammed said. “We continue to work with authorities in curbing the incidence of fraudulent activity and the Bank remains committed to protecting customers against instances of fraudulent activities.”
Mohammed reminded customers that the bank had recently launched Scotiabank Alerts, a system where customers are immediately notified whenever there is activity on their accounts, including when and where their cards are used and the exact amount spent.
Mohammed said customers can access this feature by signing for online banking.
