A client of Oschadbank lost 53,767 hryvnias from their account while attempting to receive payments from an international organization, according to a court ruling.
A man decided to seek financial assistance from an international organization and clicked on a link he received in a message. Subsequently, he noticed that funds had disappeared from his accounts at Oschadbank, totaling 53,767 hryvnias. This was reported in the decision of the Polonsky District Court of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, published on November 19, 2024.
On April 6, 2024, the man clicked on a link he received in a Viber messenger group to obtain financial assistance from the international organization Red Rose CPS in the amount of 6,800 hryvnias. He entered his bank card number, which he uses to receive his salary, and a four-digit code "2124" sent to his phone. He received a message in the Viber app featuring the Oschadbank logo, requesting clarification regarding illegal fund transfers to his account due to fraudulent activities. Upon logging into his personal account "Oschad24," he noticed that funds totaling 6,267 hryvnias had been withdrawn from his salary account, along with 47,500 hryvnias from his credit account, and transferred to an unknown card.
The man only blocked his bank cards and access to his "Oschad24" personal account the next day, and on April 8, 2024, he reported the fraudulent activities to both the Oschadbank branch and the police. However, the bank sent him a notice demanding payment for the credit card debt. He believes he did not disclose any information that would facilitate fraudulent actions, and that the bank unjustly transferred funds from his accounts.
"On April 6, 2024, at the client's request, an outgoing automatic IVR call was made to the phone number for confirming registration in the mobile application 'Oschad 24/7', which was successfully answered. During the call, the system informed the client that he should not disclose card details and one-time passwords to third parties, and a one-time password was provided. Following the successful registration in the mobile application 'Oschad 24/7', payment transactions were conducted between 21:10 and 21:13, during which funds totaling 6,200 hryvnias and 47,500 hryvnias were transferred from the plaintiff's accounts to the account of JSC 'TASCOMBANK'. On April 7, 2024, the client contacted the bank to request the blocking of payment cards and reported that he had disclosed confidential information, including payment card details and codes, to third parties for processing payment information," - stated the bank.
What did the court decide?
The court denied the man's claim. His actions led to the unlawful use of information that allowed for the initiation of payment transactions, resulting in the withdrawal of funds from the accounts.
"The plaintiff voluntarily and carelessly clicked on a link to a phishing site (a web resource that deceives users into providing payment card details under the pretext of offering non-existent services) on April 6, 2024, where he entered personal information, specifically his card number and a one-time digital password for registration in the 'Oschad 24/7' application, thereby disclosing information to third parties that enabled them to access his personal account in 'Oschad 24/7'. They executed payment transactions on behalf of the payer using electronic payment means," - emphasized the court.