Since the start of the month customers of all banks that operate in Belgium have been able to contact their bank around the clock to report instances of phishing. Speaking on VRT Radio 2’s consumer affairs programme ‘De Inspecteur’, the Federal Secretary of State Responsible for Consumer Affairs, Alexia Betrand (Flemish liberal) said that those that believe that they have been the victim of phishing are now able to get their banking app blocked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week regardless of which bank they are a customer of.
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Victims of phishing can now contact their banks around the clock
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In 2021 online fraudsters netted a total of 25 million euro through phishing. The phishing technique is used to obtain a person’s bank details such as their pin code or credit card details in order to defraud them.
Many attempts at phishing occur during the evening and night or at the weekend when it is more difficult to contact banks in order to get transactions blocked. However, this has now changed and customers of banks that operate in Belgium will be able to get their transactions frozen at all times of the day and night.
A long-drawn-out process
Speaking on Monday morning, the Federal Secretary of State responsible for Consumer Affairs Alexia Bertrand said that all banks have made their customer service hotlines available 24/7.
Ms Bertrand added that this is a big step forward “Victims can now have their banking app blocked more easily. This can prevent a lot of financial damage from occurring”.
What if you have become the victim of fraud?
Prevention is better than cure so it is best not to click on just any link that you might have received via test message or e-mail. Banks will never request your log-in information not even by telephone. If you believe that you have fallen victim to fraudster there are three things that you should do.
1. Call Card Stop on 078/170170. Card Stop can block you bank cards.
2. Call your bank’s customer service department. This can be found on the website of your bank.
3. Report the incident to the police. The police are sometimes able to recover at least some of the money stolen. Furthermore, by reporting phishing to the police is gives them a more complete picture of the extent of the problem.