He clicked on a social media ad and lost all his money

Seyithan Ormancı, a driving instructor living in the Eğitim neighborhood of the Yıldırım district, saw a bank advertisement on his social media account while considering buying a car for his son during the pandemic. Browsing the ad, which offered a loan opportunity with a 0.84 interest rate, Ormancı clicked on the link.

After filling out the form that appeared, Ormancı was called by an unknown number the following day.

The scammers, who lured Ormancı into their trap as he sought to take advantage of the low-interest loan, requested his identification and verification details to gain access to his bank account.

After providing the verification code sent to his phone to the scammers, Ormancı noticed a few days later that his account was in the negative after a payment was sent by a student he was tutoring. Checking his accounts immediately, the man discovered that over 30,000 Turkish Lira had been taken out as a loan in his name.

Heading to the prosecutor's office, Ormancı filed a complaint to ensure the suspects who defrauded him were found and punished. Following an investigation by police teams, the identified suspects were apprehended. Of the three suspects tried at the 13th High Criminal Court upon the complaint, one was arrested and sent to prison, while the other two were sentenced to pay fines.

Having paid approximately 60,000 Turkish Lira including interest, Ormancı said, "I am a retired man; this is not an easy debt for us to bear. I will also apply to the judiciary to have this loss compensated." he added.

Falling into the scammers' trap, Ormancı said, "It was during the pandemic. I was looking for a loan to buy a car for my son. I decided to browse social media for a while. At that moment, a bank advertisement appeared. The ad claimed that a loan with a 0.84 interest rate could be obtained. Curious about the details, I clicked the link. I filled out a form on the link I clicked. A day later, a number called me and asked me to provide my ID and the code sent to my phone to complete my loan application. They had logged into my mobile banking account from their own phones. When I became suspicious, I hung up and went to the bank. I asked the bank staff if there was any activity in my account. When they said there wasn't, I went home. I had given a private lesson to a student. Later, when I deposited money into my account, I saw that my balance had dropped into the negative. When I checked my accounts, I found that over 30,000 liras had been taken out as a loan in my name. I immediately went to the prosecutor's office and filed a complaint. I gave the number that called me to the police. Thanks to their efforts, the police teams identified the suspects. The 13th High Criminal Court determined that the suspects had defrauded me. While two of them received administrative fines, one was arrested. Justice was served. Now, my only wish is for the money I never used to be returned to me."

News Source: İHA