Bank account drained

Farmworker stunned as savings disappear in online gaming and TikTok spending spree

AClarendon man has been seeking to convince his bank to return approximately $750,000 that came out of his savings account as payment for online games such as Garena and Roblox, and to buy ‘gifts’ on TikTok.

Donovan Grant, a farmworker, said he did not make the purchases and insisted that they were never authorised by him.

The 60-plus-year-old told THE STAR that he had more than $850,000 last April, but was shocked to find out that it had dwindled to $30 in about three months. A bank statement, which he provided to this newspaper, showed that most of the monies that left his account were credited to Google as payment for use of in-app purchases for games as well as spending on TikTok Live. Although Roblox and Garena are free games, users can use credit and debit cards to purchases to enhance their experiences.

An examination of a onemonth window — May 1, 2023 - June 1, 2023 — showed that his savings account dwindled to $747.74, down from $732,432. On one particular day in May, more than 100 transactions were recorded, with purchases ranging from $172.38 to $1,737. These transactions reflected purchases that were made over a weekend, but were recorded on the next working day.

Contacted for comment, NCB said it conducted a thorough investigation of Grant’s case immediately after being made aware of the situation. The bank said it cannot discuss the specific details of a customer’s account due to privacy and confidentiality considerations, but stated that “the matter has been fully investigated and the customer was advised of the outcome”.

The bank has also encouraged customers to be cautious with their personal information, stating that it is noticing “an increase in incidents of what is known as ‘friendly fraud’”. This type of fraud often occurs when a close relative, such as a child or other family member of the cardholder, gains access to the card information and makes purchases, usually online.

“The cardholder, unaware of these transactions, notices the unfamiliar charges on their statement and reports them to their bank as unauthorised. This misunderstanding leads to a situation where charges are disputed,” NCB said.

Grant has been disputing the charges on his account. He told THE STAR that he does not play games, and that he is not au fait with the use of the Internet. When quizzed about whether anybody in his household has access to his account who could be playing games, he also said no.

“No sah, a bay big people, bay people inna mi house,” he said, while giving the ages of members of his household as 50, 22 and 18. He said they do not have access to his card.

Grant said he discovered that there was an issue with his account on June 13, 2023 when he attempted to make a purchase to facilitate his travel on the farmwork programme. He said he relied on the assistance of a “police friend” to make the online transaction and it was the first time he was doing it.

But having realised that the transaction could not be completed, Grant went to the bank the next day to check on his account and discovered it was nearly depleted.

“Mi head just swell up big. Mi seh, ‘God, weh mi a guh duh wid mama? Supposed mama dead now? Mi caah depend pan that money again ... . People would a seh mi worthless, supposed a dat did catch mi now? All that run inna mi thoughts,” Grant said.

He said that he borrowed the funds that he needed to facilitate his travel on June 15, 2023, and did not have time to query the matter in any meaningful way as he was due to leave the country for America on the farmwork programme. Grant said that while there, he spent about US$300 (approximately J$46,500) purchasing call credit, which he used to call the bank in an attempt to have the matter resolved.

He claimed the matter took a toll on him and he ended up in the hospital for six days after fainting at work one day.

“Every day mi fret pan mi money, all when mi a work,” Grant said, with tears streaming down his face.

He told THE STAR that he went to the bank the day after he returned to Jamaica, but has not been successful in his bid to have the funds returned to him.