Yahoo Finance CBA customer loses $18,000 to ‘extremely convincing’ scam
The 71-year-old said he felt like his “heart had been ripped out” after he lost years worth of savings, following a fake Netflix email.
A Commonwealth Bank (CBA) customer was left with “nothing to live on” after falling victim to an elaborate scam.
War veteran Shane Arnold received a fake Netflix email claiming he was entitled to a refund and was convinced to enter his personal banking details.
This gave the alleged fraudster enough information to contact the 71-year-old the following day, allegedly posing as a CBA security officer.
Have you fallen victim to a scam? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com
Arnold was told his account had been compromised and that he needed to put his bank cards in a bag, which would be collected by a driver from the bank.
Arnold said the scammer was “extremely convincing” and spoke in a “posh English accent”. In reality, the grandfather was allegedly speaking to a 19-year-old from the Melbourne suburb of Braybrook, who was using artificial intelligence to alter his voice.
The accused then allegedly withdrew thousands of dollars from ATMs across Melbourne, purchased dozens of gift cards from Kmart, filled up at Ampol and bought a new iPhone. Arnold ended up being fleeced of $18,000.
RELATED
HSBC customer Sunni lost $50,000 to a scam. She can’t get any money back
Scammed mum goes into $11k ‘panic’ as she answers daughter’s call
Aussie loses $35,000 life savings in elaborate NAB, Westpac scam: ‘Catastrophic’
“I’ve worked for 50-odd years to get that money. He took it within a day,” Arnold told 9News. “I feel like my heart had been ripped out. We had nothing to live on for a fortnight.”
Arnold claims CBA has only offered to reimburse him $1,000 and he has filed a report with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
BDO forensic services partner Stan Gallo told 9News banks and businesses were starting to “put the onus back on the victim”, saying they authorised the transaction.
Woman loses $35,000
Melbourne woman Rachel De Candia was also targeted by phishing scammers. Like Arnold, De Candia received a dodgy email claiming she was entitled to a Netflix refund and was later called by a scammer impersonating her bank, NAB.
She lost $35,000 - meant for her home deposit - after the alleged scammer convinced her to transfer her money into another account and used her bank cards to withdraw cash from ATMs and make purchases.
“It's my life savings. It’s not like I can earn that money back within a certain amount of time,” De Candia told Yahoo Finance. “It’s years of savings … To have this amount of money gone is catastrophic.”
Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to our free daily newsletter.
