90-year-old widow scammed out of $100,000: Is your bank doing enough to protect you?
- Replies 8
In recent years, there has been a rise in scams targeting unsuspecting Australians.
Scammers are devising new ways to access personal information, including banking details,.
Among those targeted are seniors and Australians who require extra care and rely on caregivers or family members to access their financial information.
A recent post on Reddit shed light to the unfortunate incident of a 90-year-old widow living in a retirement complex in Sydney who was scammed out of $100,000.
The user who shared the post expressed concern about the lack of security measures the bank and the retirement complex took to protect her from such scams.
According to the Reddit user, the scammers bullied the older woman into making the transaction.
The post read: ‘Despite all of the attention to cybersecurity in the media lately, her bank never once raised an alert during the transaction.’
This raises concerns about the effectiveness of banks' security measures and the need for improved systems to recognise suspicious transactions.
The Reddit user advised their sister to take immediate preventative action, suggesting the use of a Telstra Call Guardian 301 handset to filter all calls and adding the sister's husband to the mother's bank account as a co-signatory.
However, the user also emphasised the importance of preventative measures at a corporate level.
‘Please take this as a reminder to protect your elderly relatives against scammers before they [scammers] call,’ the post concluded.
It is essential to take proactive steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones from these types of fraudulent activities.
The issue of bank fraud and scams is a growing problem that affects people from all walks of life.
Unfortunately, seniors are particularly vulnerable to these types of crimes and are increasingly targeted.
One comment on the Reddit post highlighted many people's frustration about how banks prioritise certain transactions over others.
The comment read: ‘How is it that seniors can get scammed out of $100,000 and the bank doesn't notice, but when I buy a $30 game from Steam, the bank holds the sale because it's an international transaction and therefore “sketchy”?’
While it may seem like banks are not doing enough to protect their customers from fraud, the reality is more complex.
Another comment from someone who has worked in the industry sheds some light on this issue: ‘The biggest issue is privacy.’
‘They can not communicate with the other bank without involving the police and court orders. So the criminals can just move faster.’
Another factor that makes detecting fraud more challenging is the different types of transactions.
One user pointed out that card transactions have more information available to banks, such as merchant category code and location, which makes it easier to create rules to trigger checks.
On the other hand, direct entry transactions have fewer factors to consider, so it can be harder to detect fraudulent activity.
Despite the challenges banks face, they do have measures in place to prevent fraud.
One person shared that many banks require a second factor, such as a text message or call, for large transactions to new recipients.
Additionally, some banks, like CBA, will hold transfers to new recipients for 24 hours for fraud detection.
However, these measures may not be enough in cases where scammers have found ways to bypass them.
One user also shared a chilling experience about how they almost lost $200,000 from a scam.
They wrote: ‘They stole my phone number, after telco negligence, so that the password reset got sent to their phone instead of mine and voila - accessed my bank account, made a new account in a matter of minutes (with no withdrawal limit), transferred my money into that new account, and withdrew all my money in a matter of minutes.’
Bank fraud and scams are a serious problem that affects many people. While banks have measures in place to prevent fraud, they face challenges in detecting and preventing it.
Education and awareness are essential tools for protecting ourselves and our loved ones from these types of crimes.
We must also continue to advocate for better security measures and hold banks accountable for their role in preventing fraud.
Stay safe out there, folks! Please share this article with your friends and loved ones so they can stay informed about this new scheme.
Scammers are devising new ways to access personal information, including banking details,.
Among those targeted are seniors and Australians who require extra care and rely on caregivers or family members to access their financial information.
A recent post on Reddit shed light to the unfortunate incident of a 90-year-old widow living in a retirement complex in Sydney who was scammed out of $100,000.
The user who shared the post expressed concern about the lack of security measures the bank and the retirement complex took to protect her from such scams.
Scammers are evolving their ways to scam people but are banks doing enough to safeguard their customers from cyber-attacks? Credit: Shutterstock.
According to the Reddit user, the scammers bullied the older woman into making the transaction.
The post read: ‘Despite all of the attention to cybersecurity in the media lately, her bank never once raised an alert during the transaction.’
This raises concerns about the effectiveness of banks' security measures and the need for improved systems to recognise suspicious transactions.
The Reddit user advised their sister to take immediate preventative action, suggesting the use of a Telstra Call Guardian 301 handset to filter all calls and adding the sister's husband to the mother's bank account as a co-signatory.
However, the user also emphasised the importance of preventative measures at a corporate level.
‘Please take this as a reminder to protect your elderly relatives against scammers before they [scammers] call,’ the post concluded.
It is essential to take proactive steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones from these types of fraudulent activities.
The issue of bank fraud and scams is a growing problem that affects people from all walks of life.
Unfortunately, seniors are particularly vulnerable to these types of crimes and are increasingly targeted.
One comment on the Reddit post highlighted many people's frustration about how banks prioritise certain transactions over others.
The comment read: ‘How is it that seniors can get scammed out of $100,000 and the bank doesn't notice, but when I buy a $30 game from Steam, the bank holds the sale because it's an international transaction and therefore “sketchy”?’
While it may seem like banks are not doing enough to protect their customers from fraud, the reality is more complex.
Another comment from someone who has worked in the industry sheds some light on this issue: ‘The biggest issue is privacy.’
‘They can not communicate with the other bank without involving the police and court orders. So the criminals can just move faster.’
Another factor that makes detecting fraud more challenging is the different types of transactions.
One user pointed out that card transactions have more information available to banks, such as merchant category code and location, which makes it easier to create rules to trigger checks.
On the other hand, direct entry transactions have fewer factors to consider, so it can be harder to detect fraudulent activity.
Despite the challenges banks face, they do have measures in place to prevent fraud.
One person shared that many banks require a second factor, such as a text message or call, for large transactions to new recipients.
Additionally, some banks, like CBA, will hold transfers to new recipients for 24 hours for fraud detection.
However, these measures may not be enough in cases where scammers have found ways to bypass them.
One user also shared a chilling experience about how they almost lost $200,000 from a scam.
They wrote: ‘They stole my phone number, after telco negligence, so that the password reset got sent to their phone instead of mine and voila - accessed my bank account, made a new account in a matter of minutes (with no withdrawal limit), transferred my money into that new account, and withdrew all my money in a matter of minutes.’
Bank fraud and scams are a serious problem that affects many people. While banks have measures in place to prevent fraud, they face challenges in detecting and preventing it.
Education and awareness are essential tools for protecting ourselves and our loved ones from these types of crimes.
We must also continue to advocate for better security measures and hold banks accountable for their role in preventing fraud.
Stay safe out there, folks! Please share this article with your friends and loved ones so they can stay informed about this new scheme.
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