Pensioner lost about €18,000 in bank scam

A pensioner was scammed out of nearly €18,000 by a person pretending to be a bank employee, Limassol police said on Friday.

The woman told police she received a phone call on September 1 by a person who pretended to be an employee at a specific bank and requested the woman’s details saying her card had to be blocked as it was allegedly illegally used online.

Police said the woman was convinced she was speaking with a bank employee and gave her bank card details, along with the three-digit security code.

The woman later realised she was scammed, as she noticed three transactions had been made on the internet with her card for the price of €17,903.90.

She then informed the bank and cancelled her card.

Police warned on anyone who is suspecting a scam to contact the cybercrime department on 22808200.