Thessaloniki: hackers hacked a teacher's mobile phone and took out a loan of 6,000 euros in his name

A teacher from Thessaloniki owed the bank 6,000 euros for a loan issued in his name, although he did not take it himself.

The 53-year-old teacher took legal action and the case was transferred to the Thessaloniki Administrative Court because although he claims to have been a victim of fraud, the bank is still demanding the money and disputing his claims. The court's decision accepts his version and prohibits the bank from demanding money until a final decision in this case.

A man was left in “shock” when he received a letter from his bank telling him he had to pay a fee of €207.25 for a €6,000 loan he claims he never took out. As soon as he received the letter, he tried to log into his electronic bank and found that it was blocked. The teacher immediately rushed to the police to report the incident as he believed he was a victim of fraud.

“I remember I was in the car and suddenly my phone turned off and automatically rebooted. I didn't pay attention to it and saw it later in the evening at home, but didn't notice anything strange,” he told local media.

The man then contacted the bank, which told him that he had applied for a €6,000 loan at the end of November 2023, a month before he received the letter notifying him of the down payment. He was informed that the money would be issued in two installments and that an amount would be deducted for expenses.

“The bank does not admit that I have become a victim of fraud, although my electronic banking is blocked and the money was transferred to an account with which I am not connected in any way,” – the teacher noted.

He immediately went to the administrative court, asking for a temporary injunction to prevent the bank from taking any action against him to collect the debt he did not owe on the loan.

“It is assumed that this transaction was not authorized by the bank customer and it is assumed that everything he says in his application is substantiated.”the court said in its order granting the motion for a temporary injunction.

“Essentially, the court finds that the man’s phone was hacked and he was defrauded because strangers took out a loan in his name that he never received and was not informed about until it was time to pay the down payment.” said the teacher's lawyer, Christos Pappas.

By a court decision, the bank is prohibited, until a final decision in the case is made, from terminating the loan agreement, demanding interest and assets of the teacher, accruing interest and distributing the loan amount if it is not collected, showing in its electronic records that this person is a debtor, and also prohibiting the bank from sending data to the list of debtors and take any action in relation to it.

At the same time, the police are investigating an allegation of fraud to identify the person who received the money through the account into which the loan amount was transferred in two installments of 3,000 euros. The investigation is also being conducted through a phone number provided by the hackers to receive messages with verification codes.

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