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Bank staff under threat due to cash shortage

Swedish banking giant Nordea’s decision to stop all cash handling at certain offices is exposing staff to threats and offensive behaviour, according to the Financial Sector Union of Sweden (Finansförbundet).

Bank staff under threat due to cash shortage

“It is the people who greet our customers face to face that are forced to meet all the complaints,“ said Jessica Johansson of the union to Sveriges Radio (SR).

She said that the threats are often verbal, customers complaining about the drop in service.

“It can be anything from personal slurs to more concrete criticism,“ she said to SR.

In many instances guards have been called to solve threatening situations and the union now urges all its members to report any threat they feel directed at them.

But according to the head of information at Nordea, Helena Östman, the threats that have been reported have nothing to do with queues or waiting times.

“The small number of threats that staff have received is about other things. Some customers can get very irate with the personal questions that we are obliged to ask due to money laundering laws,” she said to TT.

Today Nordea has 200 offices that handle cash.

It is, among other things, the risk of robbery that has made the bank actively work to decrease the cash handling in many offices.

Customers are also increasingly doing their banking online, according to the bank.

“We have great understanding for customers getting irritated by the long waits, but in general queuing times haven’t increased,” said Östman to news agency TT.

But Gunilla Klingberg, a Nordea customer, turned around when she realized how long she was going to have to wait to cash a cheque.

“It is remarkable. I think that there are 40 numbers before me. They’ve just closed down the service at my local office so I cycled over here to get cash. So, this is very bad service,” she said to SR.

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How to avoid falling victim to tax scams in Sweden

Sweden's tax agency, Skatteverket, warns of an increase in scams when it's time for Swedish tax-payers to declare their taxes.

How to avoid falling victim to tax scams in Sweden

Anyone who earned more than 22,208 kronor last year received their tax returns digitally last week, marking the start of tax season.

That also means an expected peak in tax-related scams, Skatteverket warns.

Most of the scams are so-called phishing scams, meaning attempts to steal the victims’ personal information. Fraudsters may for example email a person, pretending to represent Skatteverket, and ask them for, among other things, their banking details.

“We’re seeing these in all channels. They use fake emails, SMS, letters and in some cases even phone calls. It is particularly common in tax declaration times – just when we’re about to send out the tax returns, the e-service opens and it’s possible to declare – but above all when it’s time for tax rebates,” Jan Janowski, a Skatteverket expert, told Swedish news agency TT.

A scam email might for example state that you’re entitled to a tax rebate and that you should click a link to receive it. Don’t click any links, open any attachments or reply to the message. Skatteverket advises that you immediately delete the email or text message.

Another common scam is that you receive a text message claiming to be from Skatteverket, telling you that you owe them money and you need to log in to calculate the amount. The website you’re urged to log in via does not belong to Skatteverket. Don’t click the link.

The agency stresses that it never asks people for their banking details. The exception is that you may be asked for your bank account information if you log into Skatteverket’s website to declare your taxes, but that always first requires you to log into the site.

To receive your tax rebate, you need to inform Skatteverket of your bank account number. You do this not by clicking a link in an email or SMS, but by logging into their website using a digital ID, for example BankID, and submitting your details. Only do this on your own initiative. If someone calls you and asks you to log in with your BankID during the phone call, don’t do it. That’s another common scam.

Skatteverket will also never call you to ask for your bank account or credit card number.

It will be possible to declare your taxes from March 19th. You’ll receive any tax rebate you’re owed by mid-April or early June, depending on when you submit your tax return. These are the dates when fraudsters are likely to attempt the most scams.

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