Yahoo Finance Scammer's terrifying call before stealing $100,000 from Aussie couple: 'He knew everything'
Scott White said the thief had managed to find all his personal information despite having almost no digital footprint.
An Aussie couple has been left with almost nothing in their account after a scammer was able to impersonate a bank employee. Scott White received a call this week from someone claiming to be from Bendigo Bank.
He told The Project he has virtually no digital footprint and doesn't do much on his phone, so he thought he would be largely protected from scammers stealing his personal information. Feeling a little suspicious about the call, White asked the person to prove they were from the bank.
"He knew my access codes. He knew the security systems that Bendigo Bank used. He knew details about me that you can only get once you're logged in," he told the Channel 10 programme.
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To further highlight the terrifying sophistication of the scam, White received a text message during the call that looked the same as other correspondence from Bendigo Bank and even appeared under previous messages from them.
The caller then sent a security code to White's phone and asked him to read it out loud. It wasn't long before $98,000 was taken from the account he shares with his partner Danielle.
The scam has turned their world upside down as the Whites were hoping the "life savings" would have allowed them to start IVF soon.
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They were hoping to do about 10 rounds to start a family, but now those dreams have been put on hold.
"We've been trying for a baby for a very long time. This was literally happening next month to start all of our treatments. So it's just really hard," Danielle said.
'We are trying to keep our dog alive'
Not only that, but the couple is dealing with another tragedy.
"We have no money left - only what I got paid from work, and that's not going to last very long," Danielle said.
"We just recently found out that our dog has got cancer all through her body, so we have tons of vet bills to try and just basically keep her alive for a little bit longer."
They've now only got $1,500 in the bank to survive and they are "heartbroken" they have to start all over again.
A small ray of sunshine during a dark day
The couple went to their neighbour's place shortly after their account was rinsed because he had also been scammed and they wanted advice.
What happened next gave them a small glimmer of hope for humanity.
"We just told them our situation, everything that happened, and literally, like, five minutes later, they came around with a little care package of sweets and chocolate and money," Danielle said.
Even the neighbour's daughter gave them "all of her pocket money" and even threw in some Pokemon cards and a drawn love heart.
Bendigo Bank said it tries to reimburse funds that are lost to scams "wherever possible" and customers will get their money back if it's found that the "bank is at fault".
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How do I protect myself from scammers?
Aussies lost $2.7 billion to scams last year, with 601,000 cons reported to authorities, according to a new report from the Australian Anti Scam Centre.
That's down from a record $3.1 billion the year previous, however, the number of scams reported went up by 18.5 per cent. Over 65s were the hardest hit and only group to take a higher loss in the last year.
Investment scams are the most prolific, with $1.3 billion lost, followed by remote access scams ($256m) and romance scams ($201.1m).
Scamwatch warns to beware of the following scenarios:
It’s an amazing opportunity to make or save money
Someone you haven’t met needs your help - and money
The message contains links or attachments
You feel pressured to act quickly
They ask you to pay in an unusual or specific way
They ask you to set up new accounts or Pay ID
What should I do if I think I’ve been scammed?
Contact your bank and report the scam. Ask them to stop transactions and stop sending any money.
Report the scam to Scamwatch here and make an official complaint to police here.
Watch out for follow up scams, particularly ones promising they can get your money back. Scamwatch warned one in three victims of a scam are scammed more than once.
Lastly, get support for yourself. You can talk to a financial counsellor or reach out to BeyondBlue on 1300 22 4636 or here for an online chat or Lifeline for crisis support online here on 13 11 14.
You can also contact IDCARE to “reduce the harm they experience from the compromise and misuse of their identity information by providing effective response and mitigation”.
