Lawmaker Rocío Vallejo of the Partido Patria Querida was the victim of a cyberattack that resulted in her bank account being emptied, with 35 million guaranis transferred out. The parliamentarian announced she will file a formal complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office.
According to her account, the incident occurred during an attempt to access her account through Banco Itaú's official website. "I logged in through the computer on the bank's page, entered my credentials and the token. A second verification screen appeared, then it said 'error' and to try again later. When I logged in again, my account was already negative. They took all my savings," Vallejo explained.
She emphasized that the method used by the criminals did not involve phishing emails or phone calls, but rather a failure or interference during use of the legitimate banking platform. "This wasn't through email, it wasn't through phone. This happened to me on the computer when I was trying to access my account. It appeared as a second window," she warned.
According to information provided by the lawmaker, the funds were transferred to an account under the name Miguel Martínez Guzmán, who is also a customer of the same bank. The transaction was recorded with the description "family assistance." Itaú has reportedly launched an internal investigation process to determine how the incident occurred.
In light of cases like this, Paraguay's Central Bank (BCP) recommends that users strengthen digital security measures. Among the recommendations are enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA), using strong passwords, enabling two-step verification on apps and emails, and avoiding storing login credentials on devices.