The police are issuing an urgent alert to residents about a significant rise in reports of electronic fraud and unauthorized banking transactions.
Numerous individuals have reported the unexpected disappearance of funds from their bank accounts, raising serious concerns for the Police Administration.
In light of this troubling trend, the Police Administration is proactively engaging in discussions with officials from the banking sector and other financial institutions to enhance collaborative efforts aimed at safeguarding customers and improving fraud prevention strategies.
In the meantime, residents are strongly encouraged to remain vigilant and refrain from sharing personal or banking information online, especially in response to unsolicited emails, messages, phone calls, or suspicious websites.
To help protect residents from online fraud, the police have provided several safety tips, including:
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Never share confidential information such as PINs, passwords, one-time codes (OTPs), or security answers.
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Avoid clicking on unknown links in emails, text messages, or social media posts.
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Verify communications that claim to be from your bank by contacting the institution directly.
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Use secure websites by looking for “https://” and the padlock symbol.
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Enable transaction alerts to monitor account activity in real time.
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Regularly review bank statements and report any discrepancies immediately.
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Utilize strong, unique passwords and change them frequently.
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Avoid conducting financial transactions over public Wi-Fi networks.
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Keep devices updated with the latest security patches and antivirus protection.
The Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda is dedicated to protecting the public and urges anyone who suspects fraudulent activity to promptly contact the Criminal Investigations Department or their banking institution.
Never proactive! Y’all don’t think that it is time to incorporate Anti- terrorism laws for protecting electronic payments and Tourism affecting crimes?
I check my banking apps first thing every morning. if they take a ten cent from me I will know and I will query
Public Wi-Fi at some places not safe at all. I hope businesses also step up their cybersecurity. It is so easy to steal people money these days and am very worried about all these electronic stuff that is now coming to the fore
Please people, stop giving out OTP and bank info over the phone. No real bank calling you to ask for that
received a text message with a link few days ago to verify my banking info. stating that they detected suspicious activities on my account. Mind you i got no connection with said bank, not even an account
This is scary now. People working too hard for their money for it to just disappear so. Banks and police need to move fast on this