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2 clusters · 5 sources · 24 days · First seen · Last updated

Financial impersonation scams in Uruguay and Argentina

Overview

Financial institutions and authorities in Uruguay and Argentina have issued warnings regarding various social engineering and impersonation scams.

In early August, the Asociación de Empleados Bancarios del Uruguay (AEBU) released educational materials to combat “family impersonation” fraud, where scammers pose as relatives in urgent need of money. Simultaneously, the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA) warned of fraudulent investment platforms using fabricated media and the identities of bank officials to solicit advance payments via email, WhatsApp, or SMS.

By late August, Uruguayan police identified a specific scam targeting retirees by impersonating officials from the state-owned utility company, UTE. Scammers offer fake electricity bill discounts to manipulate victims into logging into banking applications, such as eBROU, allowing criminals to perform unauthorized transfers or loans. Authorities have clarified that these incidents are cases of identity theft and social engineering rather than system hacks.

Entities

Asociación de Empleados Bancarios del Uruguay (AEBU) · Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA) · eBROU · Lavalleja Police · UTE

Timeline

  1. 15 days ago

    [CRIME] 5 sources
    UTE impersonation scam targets retirees in Uruguay

    Uruguayan police are warning of a scam where criminals impersonate UTE officials to offer fake energy discounts to retirees in order to access their bank accounts and take out fraudulent loans.

  2. about 1 month ago

    [CRIME] 4 sources
    Uruguay bank union and Argentina central bank warn of family‑impersonation and fake‑investment scams

    Uruguay’s AEBU and Argentina’s BCRA warn of family‑impersonation scams and fake‑investment videos, urging verification and reporting of fraudulent requests.

Sources

diariocambios.com · elmonterizo.com · huelvainformacion.es · nacion.com.uy · rionegroahora.com