Mistakes can cause money in your savings account to 'vanish'.

Saving money in a bank is considered safe by most people. However, if you don't understand the basic mistakes to avoid in transactions, the money in your account can disappear.

According to bank tellers, many customers have been using the bank's services for years, but not all are careful about mistakes that could affect their own interests.

Pre-signed documents

Recently, nine customers in Lao Cai reported that they had entrusted a woman named Le Thi Hue to deposit tens of billions of VND into savings accounts at the Agribank Cam Duong branch (Lao Cai). Hue claimed to have connections with the bank and could offer interest rates many times higher than the listed rates.

After gaining the trust of these people, Hue asked them to sign deposit slips in advance. The amount of money Hue raised from each person reached tens of billions of dong, but the amount Hue opened in each savings account at the bank was only 1 million dong.

The amount recorded on the savings passbook that Hue returned to the depositor showed signs of erasure and alteration, and the ink color was different from the ink used at the Agribank Cam Duong branch.

Huệ's fraudulent activities only came to light when customers went to the bank to withdraw their savings.

The truth only came out on April 24th when a customer went to the Cam Duong branch to withdraw money and discovered that all the savings accounts entrusted to Hue only had 1 million VND in them.

According to bank tellers, the number of customers who agree to sign deposit slips in advance is not small. Sometimes, due to work commitments, they authorize relatives or friends to do it on their behalf. However, by exploiting this trust, many similar scams have occurred.

Instead of opening a savings account directly, they asked someone else to deposit the money on their behalf.

Also related to the case, nine people were allegedly defrauded of hundreds of billions of VND in Lao Cai. According to Mr. Ngo Van Toan (one of the victims), he deposited 77.8 billion VND at the Agribank Cam Duong branch through 11 savings passbooks.

However, the actual amount in his bank account was only 11 million VND, not 77.8 billion VND as stated in his savings passbook.

The savings accounts that Mr. Toán deposited through Huệ did not match the actual amount of money in his bank account.

When asked if he deposited the money directly at the bank, Mr. Toán stated that he sometimes deposited it himself and sometimes asked a woman named Huệ to deposit it for him, who then gave him the passbook. Notably, he was able to withdraw money from the passbooks he deposited himself.

VIP customers, do not deposit money at the counter.

Ms. Huyen Nga, a teller at a bank branch in Tay Ho district, said that many VIP customers of the branch deposit money but do not come to the counter in person.

VIP clients often have a long history of dealing with the bank, so they tend to trust the staff and request that employees come to their homes, workplaces, or even cafes to open savings accounts. Not wanting to offend these VIP clients, bank employees often comply with their requests.

However, this situation poses a significant risk to the funds in the customer's account. If they encounter dishonest employees who provide forged passbooks or subsequently fail to deposit the money into the vault or system, the customer's funds can easily be misappropriated.

In reality, bank employees all say they do this for loyal customers and that all transactions are secure in order to maintain trust. However, such cases have occurred before.

In 2016, Eximbank's Nghe An branch customers had their savings accounts completely emptied by bank employees, totaling over 48 billion VND. The reason was that the customers trusted the employees and did not deposit their money directly at the teller counter.

Pay upfront, receive the title deed later.

Customers who had worked with certain close bank employees for many years often entrusted their savings to them without proper documentation, such as their passbooks or deposit certificates. Numerous cases of embezzlement have occurred where familiar employees were dismissed or absconded, taking with them all of the customers' savings. For example, a former bank teller in Quang Ninh, after leaving her job, exploited people's trust to raise tens of billions of dong before fleeing.

Even when receiving a savings passbook, customers should carefully check all documents, ensuring they have the bank's stamp and the signatures of the relevant responsible parties. This is key to protecting customers in case of risks or disputes.

Change signature

While not a serious issue, bank tellers say this is a common mistake that frequently occurs with many of their customers.

While the signature used to open the savings account is one thing, the customer signs a different signature when closing the account, making the verification process difficult and time-consuming.

According to bank employees, maintaining the signature throughout the transaction process is crucial, as it serves as a security code to verify customers' deposits and withdrawals.

"In banking transactions, every stroke of a customer's handwriting is of great value, so consistency in signatures is something customers need to pay attention to," said Duy Ngoc, a teller at a bank in Cau Giay district.

According to VNN