Phishing Can Be Done By the LEGALLY EMPLOYED in LEGITIMATE Financial Institutions

It might be easy for some to ignore the obvious phishing emails such as a complete stranger asking for money, a too-good-to-be-true employment offer, a Ponzi scheme offering huge returns in such a short time, a pyramid scam that promises to pay you every time you recruit, etc. when you've guilt some experience. I was once hit by a pyramid scam and lost a small amount of money. I decided not to pursue recruiting because I was too busy trying to get my bachelor's degree in business administration. However, what's so often ignored is the world of employee fraud. Besides, some phishing activities can be done by legally employed financial institution employees. Don't believe me? Well, I believe that's what happened to me today when I lost some money in a GCash "verification" process since it looked so legitimate. Apparently, the GCash scam was done were legally employed staff and not some programmer. Some people are so greedy that they want money fast regardless of the consequences. 

There's really the world of internal banking fraud. The Net Guardians website gives this introduction in "A-Z of Internal Banking Fraud" (I suggest taking time to read it) which is often ignored and I tend to do so:

IT IS NO EXAGGERATION TO SAY THAT THE GREATEST FRAUD RISK THAT BANKS FACE WALKS THROUGH THEIR DOORS EVERY MORNING AND SITS DOWN TO WORK

Frauds carried out by bank employees are a huge global problem. In its 2020 Report to the Nations, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) assessed 2,504 cases of internal fraud from 125 countries, which led to estimated losses of $3.6bn. Banking and Financial Services accounted for the largest share of internal fraud cases examined by the ACFE, with 15.4% of the total.

The A-Z of Internal Banking Fraud highlights the scale of this problem and the different vulnerabilities that internal fraudsters exploit, and explains how advanced anti-fraud technologies can combat it. Bank employees are uniquely well placed to discover and take advantage of weaknesses in their organization’s internal controls – perhaps by abusing their level of access to the bank’s IT systems or by targeting dormant accounts.

But FinTech anti-fraud solutions are improving all the time – their ability to identify and block suspicious activity in real time is becoming the first line of defense against the biggest fraud risk in banking.

So, what I'm thinking is that if some people lost their money in AXA (where I currently invest some of my money)--it could be a result of fraudulent employees. AXA is a worldwide deposit company and of a good reputation. However, there will always be Judas Iscariot employees every now and then. These inside-jobbers. It could be from a good bank like Metrobank or Banco De Oro. It could be in a reliable form of digital banking like GCash. Robbery in broad daylight can happen because of employee fraud. 

This 2022, another report from The Vibes.com: Malaysia from Every Side has it that a bank employee cheated millions of customers in Malaysia. It would be very interesting to read that a certain Klang MP Charles Santiago filed a case against the employee. Here's an excerpt of that scam incident:

However, after some of these clients met each other, they suspected that they may have been victims of a scam upon seeing no sign of profits deposited in their bank accounts.

“Realising that there may have been a scam involved, a number of police reports were filed by the victims on March 23 and 24,” Santiago said in the letter.

When asked by The Vibes during a brief WhatsApp conversation, the Klang MP explained that he is unsure if the authorities have initiated investigations.

Attempts to contact South Klang OCPD Cha Hoong Fong for comment drew no response.

Meanwhile, Santiago has urged the manager of the bank branch to conduct an investigation into the matter soon and meet with the victims to provide an explanation as well as compensation.

It could be seen that not all scammers run an obvious shady operation. Not all scammers will invite you to some dark alley or obscure location like those I get from the so-called lottery wins or forex scams. These scams can come from those who are legally employed in registered financial institutions. Some of them may even go as far as to lie that they're the bank manager (when they aren't), could be a very corrupt bank manager, or just anybody who works in a financial institution just for the profits. These people want the money as soon as possible rather than having to work hard for it. Some of them may be paid well and are just pretending to be mistreated by their bosses. 

These employees are clearly breaking employment rules. No financial institution employee is ever allowed to ask for stuff like the personal passwords of the customers. They're the customers' privacy. Yet, some may try to either sweet talk like saying, "Your account could be deactivated." since the use of obvious force isn't going to work. They could also send emails that look legitimate like they could copy the template from where they work. If you know any, better screenshot that email or report that employee over to management. Such people legally employed in legitimate financial institutions might as well work for cryptocurrency companies if they want a fast buck. Though, I believe they're using their legitimate employment as a cover for their illegal activities since it's one of the best ways criminals can do their business--having a legal front to hide the illegal behind. 

References

"A-Z of Internal Banking Fraud" (July 07. 2021)

https://netguardians.ch/internal-banking-fraud/

"Customers cheated of millions in scam by bank employee: Santiago"

https://www.thevibes.com/articles/news/57109/customers-cheated-of-millions-in-scam-by-bank-employee-santiago