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It's a story that caused some strong reactions among e-customers, who may have worried that their accounts were next. But one Belmopan resident took the situation into his own hands and moved to make sure his Heritage account wouldn't be phished. We caught businessman Lascelle Arnold closing down his account:

Yesterday, just before noon, businessman Lascelle Arnold walked into the Heritage Bank on Princess Margaret Drive to close his account.

He says he did that as a response to the story 7 News carried on Friday all about the Phising scam that had affected a Heritage bank customer. Still, he claims it wasn't the first time he heard about it, just the first time he got to confirm the banks policy.

Lascelle Arnold, Closed A Heritage Bank Account
"I closed my account, I heard about it a couple months ago and I withdrew some money and I left a small amount because I wouldn't want problems with a bigger amount so when I heard the news on Friday, I and the bank wasn't holding any responsibility, I decided that I am not a high tech person concerned with phone and clicking and not clicking and whatever it is. So I said, you know what? It's easier for me just to - if I am not getting the protection from the bank - then it's better for me to just remove my money."

Cherisse Halsall:
"But I have to ask you where are you putting your money now because this scam is not just this bank's fault, it's happening at all the banks?"

Lascelle Arnold, Closed A Heritage Bank Account
"The security that I have at Atlantic and Belizean bank is far much better than what they have here. So for right now I'm just gonna put it in credit union right now. From what I see the other banks that I work with, they have much more layers of security."

Cherisse Halsall:
"Again, I have to stress this has happened to customers at Belize bank and Atlantic bank and if there is no where else to turn, what do you say now?"

Lascelle Arnold, Closed A Heritage Bank Account
"The thing is I think the FIU and the Central bank have to speak to this problem because we can't say the next time it happens, and the next time it happens, we'll do something about it and I think the police have to get involved because there is a thing where the money moves from one account to another account from what I see on the news and I think the police have to be involved. I know there was a report made last week Thursday. So, I think this is just a small protest of saying: You know what I've moved my money and I think the bank needs to get the sense that if they don't do something about it then people will start to move their money from the banks."

Cherisse Halsall:
"To a customer that says, in light of this phishing scam, I am going to remove my money from Heritage Atlantic and believes banks only put it in credit union. What would you say to that person?"

Stephen Duncan, Managing Director, Heritage Bank
"I would suggest that that person does not understand what is happening. That is a clear case of misunderstanding. All institutions would have a similar, any institution can have this situation."

Cherisse Halsall:
"As long as they were doing online banking."

Stephen Duncan, Managing Director, Heritage Bank
"...because online banking allows you to click on the link. Now, let's be clear, I'll give you an example where it was not online banking, it was an ATM. So remember once you give up your credentials, so let's bring it down to basic, traditional old-time banking. Just to be clear, you have a checking account, physical piece of paper, and nothing to do with electronic channels."

"You write out your, cheque at home, you're going to the bank, to cash your cheque, you sign it, you make that check for cash, and you endorse it on the back. When you get to the bank, you will get cash for it. You want to take out $300. You lose that check. That check is live. And if somebody gets that check and goes to the bank and get the money, can you accuse a person of forging your signature?"

"Was your signature a forgery? Absolutely not. You signed that check. Somebody benefited from the fact that they got a hold of your instrument. That's precisely what happens in the electronic world. Somebody got ahold of your credentials and they use it to their advantage."

And that's just what happened to Amir Heredia ahead of a long weekend in September of Last year.

Amir Heredia, Victim of Hacking
"When the second email came through, it came through like five minutes after stating that a confirmation of a transfer from Belize Bank to Heritage had successfully been completed, that's when I went into my online banking and I saw that I only remain with $3.71 in the account which I was hacked, $880, plus the $3 that they charge for service charge."

"I went to Belize Bank, I told the security I went to speak with someone immediately, he didn't want to talk to anyone because he said the bank was already closed I told him I had to speak with someone because if I wait for tomorrow, it's going to be too late, so he went inside and brought out a lady by the name Esther Flowers. She took me in the bank and started sending emails after emails and then eventually she told me they already got in contact with Heritage Bank to put a block on the transaction that took place. Apparently, she told me that on Friday she was going to give me an update because this happened the Wednesday. On Friday, I called her and she didn't have an update so I went to CIB on King Street. When I went there, they told me that, since it was a long holiday for the 1st of August, they told me to go on Tuesday to get a statement with the account number where the money went into. So I went to get the statement from them and took it to CIB. CIB told me that they went to Heritage Bank and Heritage Bank wasn't giving them any information so they wrote up and send all the evidence to FIU. A week later, FIU came to contact me for a statement, they came and took down a statement from me and told me that they were going to investigate the matter. Apparently, three week ago, I called Mrs Flowers, she told me she just came back from holiday and that she is going to check into it. So I was waiting a couple days, she didn't check into it, I called her back, she told me, Mr Heredia, we already spoke to the person who withdrew the money out of Heritage Bank, out of his Heritage account, they already spoke to the person, the person told them he is going to go back and deposit back the money in the account which the person is from Corozal because it got withdraw out from the Corozal Branch, she said."

"So she told me that she was going to talk to her manager and get back to me, up to today she hasn't gotten back to me at all and this thing is theft and is fraud. And my concern is that if it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody out there and if it happen to anybody out there, I would suggest people start doing something about it."

"I talked to an attorney and the attorney told me that they should have put back the funds in my account and deal with their matter eventually because our money should be insured and I'm not getting any answer so I decided to come to the media so that everybody know exactly what's happening."

But contrary to the opinion of Heredia's Attorney, Heritage Bank's Managing Director claims there is no such liability.

Stephen Duncan, Managing Director, Heritage Bank
"From a policy standpoint, I'm not aware that banks have been returning funds. We have not. And that policy has not changed. Where the bank feels that the bank is p out money from your account in error because we made a mistake there is negligence or something on our part that's different. But that is not the case here."

It's why Duncan says that those like Mr. Arnold who consider themselves less than tech savvy and who haven't even signed up for online banking have little to fear.

Stephen Duncan, Managing Director , Heritage Bank
"So just to be clear, there are layers of authentication and authorization. There are layers, but the minute you give up your credentials, the layers don't mean anything because you give the person all that that person needs to be able to get past the various layers."

"The weakness we are facing is because customers give up their password and their pins and so, so we have been, as a bankers association, and we have in the past also put out releases as a collective body. The central bank has put out, the FIU has put out, banks have put out individually, including Heritage Bank. I see now where Belize Bank has gone the extra step and on their statements I think it is they know keep it there permanently. So, when you open it you see don't click on links, that kind of thing and Heritage Bank on our E-banking its stays up there."

We also asked the Managing Director Duncan how much the bank had spent on awareness campaigns for phishing campaigns in 2022, but he didn't have that figure.

The COMPOL for his part says he's optimistic that his department will catch the perpetrators and says they are working in tandem with the FIU to get to the bottom of the investigation.