Digital fraudsters have become so cunning that anyone can be fooled, warns Aksel Munch Søndergaard.
On 20 January last year, a message ticked into Aksel Munch Søndergaard’s phone from MobilePay.
“MobilePay users are required to comply with anti-money laundering laws. Avoid having your account closed by confirming your information,” it said.
– I was used to entering information about money laundering because I lived in Germany at the time, and therefore there could be some transfers between the borders that my bank or MobilePay could find suspicious, says the now 22-year-old student.
It was the start of a cunning scam, which ended up costing Aksel Munch Søndergaard 30,000 kroner and a dent in trust.
– My trust was abused. The systems that I was used to and thought were safe, they were used against me, says Aksel Munch Søndergaard.
– I had the feeling that we live in a country where you don’t have to worry so much, but times change and I think, unfortunately, you have to be more careful, even as a young person.
Fraudsters used MobilePay SMS thread
The fraudsters succeeded in defrauding Aksel Munch Søndergaard of DKK 30,000, even though he is a digital native in this way.
First came the SMS about money laundering from MobilePay in the same thread as he has previously received messages from MobilePay.
– The SMS comes from a source that I am comfortable with. So there are no alarms going off.
A few days later he gets a call from his bank.
– There is an adviser who speaks Danish, who tells me that I have come to give away my information.
