In Barranquilla, a man’s identity was stolen and he appeared with credit he never asked for

According to the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce, the identity theft It consists of impersonating another person’s identity for various purposes: deceiving third parties, obtaining goods and services billed to the impersonated person, engaging in fraud and other types of illegal conduct. A fact that happened in the southeast of Barranquilla, Atlántico, when a a professor pretended to make a millionaire loan at a bank.

The teacher Carlos Rojas Rueda has a Datacredito subscription, where he can constantly follow his financial statements. On Wednesday, February 15, he received a notification regarding the opening a new product in a bank. He immediately entered the risk center portal and discovered that it was a Banco de Bogotá savings account, so he decided to call about the alleged product he had requested. His surprise was greater when he was informed that he had also paid a credit of 24 million pesos since February 6.

In dialogues for the newspaper The weather, The victim says: “I have not made any request to the banks for six months, whether it is an account, cards and even less credit. I also have no business relationship with this bank.

Professor Rojas went to the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation to file the complaint the authorities to open the relevant investigation for identity theft. In this way, the teacher demanded that the Banco de Bogotá, located at Calle 43 #35-102, where the fraud was recorded, demonstrate what security means it uses to protect data, information and people’s resources.

“Here, none of that. I am afraid that what is happening to me will also happen to other people. 24 million pesos is not a great fortune, but duty is and paying more,” said Carlos Rojas.

This case recalls a similar case that occurred in December 2022, when a man who lived in Santander appeared as if he had contracted in 2021 a credit of 20 million pesos, a credit card with a quota of 1.5 million and a new account.

having been tricked into installing an internet service, The man was suspicious and asked to check his credit history. Realizing what was happening, he immediately pointed out that the reported information was false, asked for it to be corrected and filed a complaint with the Barrancabermeja Public Prosecutor’s Office.

It must be taken into account that this criminal practice in Colombia has increased due to the use of new technologies, and after the pandemic this crime has recorded its greatest boom.

According to figures from the Criminal Investigation Directorate and Interpol (Dijin), a national police organization, in 2020, 1,527 identity theft cases were filedwhich represents a growth of 409% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

The report also mentions identity theft on websites, which increased by 358%, reaching a total of 4,353 cases during the lockdown.

In the authorities recommendations to the public on what to do in case of being a victim of this crime. First, the modification of the passwords of the accounts attached to the devices is noted. Then it is suggested to go to the prosecutor’s office or the national police to file the respective complaint for the crime of personal lying, which is characterized in the Penal Code, in its article 296. After filing the complaint with the relevant authorities, for security reasons, the identity theft should be reported to financial information operations, in order to protect financial information.

“In the event of identity theft, the citizen can file a complaint with this entity so that it can be verified whether it has been done in accordance with the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Regime”, says the Superintendence of the industry and commerce.