A saver from the province of Naples, an ING Bank customer, managed to fully recover more than €15.000 stolen by cybercriminals last summer thanks to the assistance of the Codici association. The fraud, carried out using the now widespread fake bank operator technique, was successfully resolved without the need for recourse to the Banking and Financial Ombudsman (ABF).
The proven scam scheme
The victim received a call from a number apparently linked to ING Bank. A person on the other end introduced himself as an ING Bank operator, calling the customer by name and providing precise account details. Faced with the alert of "suspicious transactions" on the account, the saver—understandably concerned—followed the instructions given. Within minutes, he completed a series of transactions indicated by the scammer: payments via PagoPA, postal payment slips, and a wire transfer. The result: over €15.000 transferred to the cybercriminals.
The decisive intervention of Codici
The Codici association intervened immediately, filing a formal complaint with the bank and initiating the protection procedure. Unlike other similar cases, ING demonstrated particular attention to the arguments presented: it acknowledged its liability and ordered the full refund of the stolen amounts, successfully closing the dispute without waiting for the ABF's ruling.
"This is a complete victory," commented Ivano Giacomelli, National Secretary of Codici, "that we want to make public to send a message of hope. It's not impossible to get the lost money back, provided we act quickly and preserve all the evidence."
Tips for protecting yourself: Don't be ashamed and enable strong authentication.
Francesco Rossolini, Head of the National Code Desk, emphasizes how frequent and increasingly sophisticated these frauds are: "Fraudsters are highly skilled at cloning numbers and reproducing the bank's language. But there's no need to feel ashamed: reporting them immediately and keeping screenshots of calls, text messages, and transactions is essential."
Rossolini also recalls the importance of basic security measures, first and foremost two-factor authentication (2FA), required by law and often decisive: «It adds a second level of protection: in addition to the password, you need a code via SMS, an authenticator app, or biometric data.
Today, it is the main tool for defending against increasingly sophisticated criminals." The Neapolitan case adds to the long series of successes achieved by Codici in protecting victims of phishing and bank vishing, demonstrating that – with the right assistance and a proactive attitude on the part of the institutions – full recovery of the sums is a viable option.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
It's really interesting to read how a customer managed to get his money back after a scam. However, I wonder if all banks are so willing to help in similar situations and if there are other security measures that could be adopted.