Lucky OFW in UAE gets reimbursement from bank after losing money to ATM fraud
An overseas Filipino worker lost funds he saved for his wife's delivery allegedly due to a fraudulent ATM withdrawal, but could count himself lucky as the bank reimbursed his lost money, a UAE news site reported Thursday.
The Dubai bank reimbursed the funds of sales executive Bernardo Umali, 36, on "humanitarian grounds," Gulf News reported.
“We have decided to temporarily reverse the amount to the customer’s account as an exception till such time our investigation is complete. The matter is solved as of now and the customer is a happy man,” a bank spokesperson told Gulf News XPRESS.
“Such things happen. It’s not uncommon. Once we establish that Umali’s card chip and pin were indeed stolen and used fraudulently, we will close the case permanently,” the spokesman added.
Umali, who earns Dh7,000 a month, had saved for the birth of his second child, who was born June 2. He said he learned of the questionable ATM withdrawals last May 26, when he got notifications on his cell phone.
“I was shocked to see the messages," Umali said.
According to him, the two withdrawals were made at around 7:20 p.m., one for Dh4,500 and another for Dh200. The withdrawals were made within a minute of each other.
While he first thought his ATM card was stolen, he checked his wallet and confirmed his card was still with him.
"My worst fears came true when I checked my account online. It showed a withdrawal of Dh4,700 had been made. That’s when I realized I was robbed, and that too just a few days before my wife was to deliver our second child,” he said.
Umali reported the incident to the bank. When Gulf News' XPRESS contacted the bank on his request, the bank promised to look into the matter. —Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News
The Dubai bank reimbursed the funds of sales executive Bernardo Umali, 36, on "humanitarian grounds," Gulf News reported.
“We have decided to temporarily reverse the amount to the customer’s account as an exception till such time our investigation is complete. The matter is solved as of now and the customer is a happy man,” a bank spokesperson told Gulf News XPRESS.
“Such things happen. It’s not uncommon. Once we establish that Umali’s card chip and pin were indeed stolen and used fraudulently, we will close the case permanently,” the spokesman added.
Umali, who earns Dh7,000 a month, had saved for the birth of his second child, who was born June 2. He said he learned of the questionable ATM withdrawals last May 26, when he got notifications on his cell phone.
“I was shocked to see the messages," Umali said.
According to him, the two withdrawals were made at around 7:20 p.m., one for Dh4,500 and another for Dh200. The withdrawals were made within a minute of each other.
While he first thought his ATM card was stolen, he checked his wallet and confirmed his card was still with him.
"My worst fears came true when I checked my account online. It showed a withdrawal of Dh4,700 had been made. That’s when I realized I was robbed, and that too just a few days before my wife was to deliver our second child,” he said.
Umali reported the incident to the bank. When Gulf News' XPRESS contacted the bank on his request, the bank promised to look into the matter. —Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News
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