A modern way of shopping and doing business often presumes practical payment methods. You can buy things with a single click, or you can make payments with an easy bank service, or in some cases, you can use cryptocurrencies. However, all of these payment systems hold varying customer protection measures and rights.

To a layman, there is very little difference between a credit card payment and a wire transfer. When it comes to scammers, this makes the world of difference. Through years of fighting fraud, the Money Back experts team has seen a sad truth – Victims very rarely know their rights with banks and credit card companies, while scammers know the system excellently.

We want to change this by helping scam victims. Our mission is to guide defrauded individuals through the process of self-recovery, and we want to educate people to avoid scams proactively. For this reason, we want to teach you about the mechanics behind wire transfer scams.

Why Do Fraudsters Use Bank Transfers?

First, we need to clarify something. Wire transfer fraud is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of scams. These schemes might be quite different from each other, but the common feature is that the fraudsters insist that the victim gives their money through a wire transfer. This is a payment method that includes the transfer of funds from one bank account to another.

Before we continue, it’s important to understand that most online scams have international reach. This means that a victim and scammers are very rarely in the same country. In order for swindlers to receive the extorted funds, the money needs to go from one country to another. Bank transfers are an easy and effective solution for this.

There is another reason why so many crooks prefer wire transfers. As we have mentioned, unfortunately, the general public rarely knows their rights while the scammers know money transfer systems inside out. Compared to other payment methods, like credit cards, when a victim pays with a bank transfer they have fewer options to revoke their payment. It is not impossible, and Money Back Experts know for a fact that it is possible, but it’s just more complicated. Scammers abuse this to make sure that the victim can’t change their mind and cancel the transfer.

MBX Tip: Always be extra careful when you are about to execute a bank transfer! Take as much time as you need to do your due diligence. Check all the details several times and do your research if the business is legitimate. It’s always better safe than sorry.

Types of Wire Transfer Scams

Technically speaking, any con that defrauds money through a bank transfer could be classified as a wire transfer scam. In other words, if a forex scam defrauds the target through a wire transfer that could be seen as a bank transfer scheme. For example, a crook may use the script of an online dating fraud and as a finishing blow, they ask for a wire transfer. This element of fraud is crucial when it comes to the claim process.

Still, there are certain types of scams that are more related to wire transfers than others. MBX team will explain several types of bank transfer schemes that we have in our vast database of scam cases. Be sure to read them so you can avoid them in the future.

Friends and Relatives in Need

We all want to help our family members and loved ones. The disgusting problem with scammers is that they will exploit any human impulse and desire. This also included the desire to help people. Fraudsters will send messages posing as relatives, friends, or someone close to a person and they will lie about how they are in trouble and need some money urgently.

To pull this off, swindlers might even spoof the phone number. This means they hack into the phone network and make it look like the text comes from the actual phone number of a relative. Similarly, scammers can hack into social media accounts, and DM targets posing as the people they know. Also, in less sophisticated cases, scammers might just text from any number.

The fraudster will text as if they were the target’s loved one, and they will lie about how they are in a difficult situation and that they immediately need money. The target falls in distress and they naturally want to help their faux friend or family member. The crook instructs them on how to make a wire transfer, and quite often the victim obliges. Only later the person finds out that everything was a scam, and that their loved one never asked them for any money.

MBX Tip: Never send a wire transfer to a friend, family member, or loved one until you have talked to them over the phone or in person if possible.

Fake Invoices

Swindlers will send fraudulent invoices to companies. These fake billing usually look identical to the ones that the business generally receives, with a tiny difference. The crooks emulate everything as closely as they can, they just put in their bank account number. Due to the sheer number of payments, the employee doesn’t notice the difference and they pay the money transfer, thus giving their money to criminals. In many cases, the company staff doesn’t notice the fraud has happened until it’s too late.

Busine Email Compromise

We at Money Back Experts know that many online scams are run by hackers and accompanied by cyber attacks. Likewise, fraudulent organizations often employ cyber criminals to extort money. This is the case with business email compromise fraud. The crooks will hack into an email server of a company and interject into email correspondence.

Usually, they will pose as a CEO or a position of authority and instruct relevant personnel to execute wire transfers. Since the email appears in a familiar correspondence and it seems as if it comes from the company’s higher-up, many people follow the instructions without much hesitation. This way crooks receive their money, and the victims figure out it’s a fraud only later.

Fraudulent Real Estate Deals

Scammers can pose as real estate agency personnel and they can go about this in several ways. Similarly to a previous scam, fraudsters can hack into a target’s email account and interject into the correspondence between a buyer and a realtor. The crook then asks for a wire transfer usually under the guise of the deposit, first payment, or some kind of fee. Since the victim thinks they are exchanging emails with a person with whom they have a well-established rapport, they follow the instructions and pay the transfer.

In more complex cases, the fraudsters might actually set up a fraudulent real estate agency, and then they play the long con. They reel in victims and manipulate them into buying unavailable houses or flats. Once the victim pays a considerable wire transfer the scammers disappear.

MBX Tip: Whenever you are making such a large investment as buying real estate, double check, triple check, and take your time to scrutinize your realtor before you make any wire transfers.

You Can Reclaim Your Stolen Money – Take Action with MBX Guide!

Many banks don’t do their job of protecting clients’ funds, and they allow criminals to receive money from wire transfers. After they neglect their duties, then they say to their account holders that there is nothing they can do about the scam. The MBX team is here to teach you about your rights and tell you there is a course of action you can take. For this reason, we want to guide you through a self-recovery process and help you get back your defrauded money. Take action with our Money Back Experts Step-by-Step guide.