In early November 2026, the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) took control of ueno bank, the bank with the most customers in the country. Nearly 3 million people lost access to their accounts overnight. And as always happens when people are scared and in a hurry to get their money back, scammers showed up right away.
At HitOcean we work in cybersecurity, and we know that moments like this are exactly what fraudsters wait for. Here’s what happened to ueno bank, the scams going around, how to spot them and what companies can do to protect their teams and customers.
What happened to ueno bank
According to the Central Bank of Paraguay’s announcement, its board voted unanimously to start a resolution process for ueno bank. The reason: its solvency ratio, which measures how much of its own capital a bank has to back its customers’ money, had fallen below 50% of the required minimum.
These are the key points, based on what had been reported as of November 6:
- Accounts were frozen. Customers couldn’t log into the app, withdraw or transfer money.
- Executives are under investigation. Prosecutors are looking into loans the bank allegedly made to companies within its own business group, and several executives were arrested.
- The Central Bank started paying back deposits. The first payment covers up to 10 million guaraníes (about $1,565) per person. To get paid, customers need an account at another bank and no outstanding debt with ueno.
- The case turned political. President Santiago Peña, a former owner of ueno, announced his resignation on November 5, according to CNN en Español.
Figures and deadlines are still changing day by day. Before taking any step, always check the information on the Central Bank’s official website.
The scams that came with the crisis
Paraguay’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (MITIC) warned on November 3 about several scams that were already circulating:
| Scam | How it works |
|---|---|
| ”We’ll get your money back” | Someone offers to recover your deposits or speed up the payout in exchange for a transfer |
| Fake deposit insurance sign-up | A link to a form to “register” and collect the deposit guarantee |
| Banking phishing | Pages or forms that imitate the Central Bank or a bank to steal personal and financial data |
| Middlemen | Self-appointed agents who give you “instructions” to get paid faster |
The messages arrive mostly through WhatsApp, Instagram and email. As a precaution, the government also paused the payment button on Portal Paraguay, its online services site, for a few days.
None of these scams is new. What changes is the context: millions of worried people, confusing information and a strong urge to sort things out fast. That’s the perfect setting for social engineering attacks, which trick a person into handing over something they wouldn’t give up otherwise.
How to spot a fake message
These red flags show up in almost every bank scam:
- You didn’t ask for it. The Central Bank isn’t going to WhatsApp you with an offer to get paid sooner.
- They rush you. “Today only”, “limited spots”, “if you don’t register, you’ll lose your money”.
- They ask you to pay. A fee, an advance or a “processing cost” to recover your own money.
- They ask for passwords or codes. Passwords, your card PIN or the code you get by text message. No legitimate party needs them.
- The link isn’t official. The web address isn’t the Central Bank’s, or it looks close but has an extra letter or an odd domain.
- The profile is new or has few followers, even if it uses a bank’s or a government agency’s logo.
The simplest rule: if you didn’t go looking for it, don’t click. Go to the official website on your own and check what they’re telling you there.
What to do if you already fell for it
- Change the passwords you typed into the fake page, starting with your email and your other bank accounts.
- Call your bank to block cards or transactions if you shared details from another account.
- Save the evidence: screenshots of the messages, the phone number or profile and the link.
- Report it to the police or the public prosecutor’s office.
- Warn the people around you. These scams spread through WhatsApp groups, and the same message is probably reaching others.
What companies can do
A crisis like this doesn’t only affect the bank’s customers. It also reaches companies: their teams, who can fall for a scam on a work computer, and their customers, who can get fake messages in the company’s name. If your company has employees, contractors or customers in Paraguay, this applies to you.
- Warn your team. A short internal message with real examples of these scams prevents more than any tool.
- Keep personal and work separate. Nobody should open “deposit refund” links from a company email account or computer.
- Define your official channels and repeat them. Tell your customers how you will and won’t contact them. That makes fake messages easier to spot.
- Watch for impersonation. Look out for profiles or pages using your brand, and get them taken down quickly.
- Put the rules in writing. What can be installed, what data can be shared and who to call when in doubt.
- Test yourself. A cybersecurity audit or penetration testing shows where someone could get in. Tests can include phishing simulations with your own team.
The bottom line
The fall of ueno bank is, first of all, a financial problem. But the fear and confusion it left behind opened the door to a wave of scams using the names of the bank and the Central Bank. The best defense hasn’t changed: be suspicious of anything you didn’t ask for, never pay to get your own money back and verify everything through official channels.
If you want to know how ready your company is for this kind of scam, our cybersecurity experts can help you find out.