Update: The lovely Virginia Malcher has reached out to us to address certain comments made by the members. Please scroll down below for the updated version of this article.

When Virginia Malcher, a pensioner from New South Wales, decided to sell her old couch online, she never could have imagined the ordeal that would follow.

What started as an innocent transaction became a lengthy battle with her bank over a sophisticated scam that cost Ms Malcher over $1,000.

After a local op shop rejected Ms Malcher’s couch because it wasn’t in the best condition, she opted to sell it online via Gumtree, a classified ads website. When an interested buyer quickly contacted her about the couch, her initial thought was that she’d just found a keen customer.

‘I got this call straight away from this woman,’ she explained.

‘She said she lived in Brisbane and really wanted it.’

But alarm bells started ringing when the supposed buyer insisted a courier would pick up the couch and transport it all the way from New South Wales to Queensland.

Virginia Malcher, an aged pensioner from New South Wales, fell for a scam after trying to sell her old couch online. Credit: Shutterstock

Ms Malcher recalled: ‘I said, “It's going to cost you a lot”, and she was like, “My company will get it”.’

'I’ll send you the courier details—give me your account, and I’ll pay straight away,' the buyer told Ms Malcher on the messaging platform WhatsApp.

Despite her hesitation, the courier form looked legitimate, so she handed over her bank card details.

Unfortunately, it was a fake form used by scammers to steal money.

Ms Malcher, a former employee of Westpac Bank, said she immediately realised she had fallen for an online shopping scam. 'I got this text from Westpac saying “roughly $1,100 came out of your account in New Zealand”. I straight away realised what was happening.'

This type of scam uses fake couriers and delivery confirmations to convince victims that their money has been safely spent on real purchases.

Ms Malcher reached out to the buyer, writing: ‘I said to this woman “I’m an aged pensioner, how can you do this to somebody?” And that’s when she started abusing me.’

She took a screenshot of the threatening messages the buyer had sent her way before the conversation was deleted. Ms Malcher also said that the buyer was calling her ‘every few minutes’ on WhatsApp.

‘My heart was pounding, and I was taking as many screenshots of everything as I could. She deleted the (Whatsapp) number really quick, and I had no record after that,’ she recalled.

Her bank, Westpac, was quick to respond. They cancelled Ms Malcher’s card, issued a new one, and refunded the stolen money. Within a fortnight, the issue was resolved—or so she thought.

A couple of months later, Westpac reversed the refund. The bank said they had received a 'delivery confirmation' from the scammers as supposed proof that Ms Malcher received the goods she supposedly 'purchased'.

‘They've got to take the word of this stupid piece of paper—anybody can produce that,’ she stated.

Unfortunately, her transaction dispute and complaint didn’t go in her favour.

The bank closed her case and explained the situation via email: ‘Our investigation shows the card was present at the point of purchase, effectively authorising the transaction.’

‘As the card wasn't reported lost or stolen, we are unfortunately unable to intervene to obtain a refund for you,’ it read.

But Ms Malcher didn’t give up—she contacted her bank repeatedly about the issue.

‘I finally got a sympathetic person—they said, “We totally understand, and I'm sorry that you were treated like that, but unfortunately, we have to draw the line somewhere”,’ she said.

She added: ‘I was the stupid idiot who gave them my account details. I thought, “I'm going to have to cop this because I made that stupid error”.’

It is understood that Westpac has a money-back guarantee for fraudulent transactions—with a catch. The guarantees promise refunds, but only if the customer did not 'contribute to the loss'. The banks can use this clause to avoid refunding scam victims.

Due to the incident, Ms Malcher felt she was let down by her bank. ‘The hardest part was the fact that they wouldn't believe me, and they took the word of this supposed delivery docket,’ she shared.

‘It's the fact my case was so blatantly obvious that I wasn't actually buying anything,’ she continued.

A Westpac spokesperson refused to comment on Ms Malcher’s case, stating: ‘Due to confidentiality obligations, we are unable to comment on individual customer matters.’

They added: ‘Stopping scams is one of our biggest priorities, and we continue investing significantly in scam prevention measures. When customers decide to transfer their money to scammers, we work hard to recover funds on their behalf where possible.’

In a welcome surprise, after being contacted by the media about Ms Malcher’s experience, Westpac reversed their decision and re-refunded her money, along with an apology.

It was a lengthy and tedious battle, which Ms Malcher believed would be difficult for more vulnerable people to take on when they want to dispute a transaction.

‘They've got no hope,’ she said.

So, how can people stay safe when shopping online?

Westpac warned their customers: ‘Never click on any link sent via text message or email asking you to download software, provide personal details or make a payment.’

‘Westpac will never send links in unsolicited text messages,’ their reminder said.

Gumtree, on the other hand, offered this advice to their customers:

'While the vast majority of experiences on Gumtree are successful and hassle-free, we always recommend our users to follow these simple steps to ensure they get the best out of their use of Gumtree:

• Never send money by bank transfer or payment service that is not PayPal through Gumtree messages. We only recommend Gumtree's PayPal integration or cash in person.
• If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably isn't true
• Always use common sense'

You can post at our Scam Watch forum if you come across anything suspicious so other members can stay informed.

You may also contact Services Australia's Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk on 1800 941 126 or send a report to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission here: https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam

If the worst case happens, seek advice from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority if you’re unhappy with how your bank has responded to your situation.

Key Takeaways

• Virginia Malcher, after attempting to sell a sofa online, lost over $1,000 from her account to a scam buyer.
• Despite initial action from Westpac Bank to refund the money and issue a new card, the bank later took back the refund based on a 'delivery confirmation' from the scammers.
• After disputes and the case gaining media attention, Westpac refunded Malcher a second time and apologised.
• Malcher emphasised a need for caution with unknown buyers online and raised concerns over more vulnerable individuals who might fall victim to similar scams.

Virginia's response:

In an email, Virginia noticed that people were asking her why she gave out her card details. According to her, the scammer directed her to a legitimate courier site where she had to enter her bank details in order for the scammer to pay her.

She followed the instructions and had a gut feeling that things didn’t seem right. By the time she caught on, they already had her money. She then explained that she's normally very careful, and is warning that these schemes can happen to anyone in a split second.

Members, do you have any tips or stories about similar scams? Share them in the comments below!

 

[johno cpfc]

I received an e-mail supposedly from Google that my account has had suspicious use. the name Google was spelt ""Googl and the alert was spelt ""Alertt. and another link alert was spelt Äleet" so watch out for selling mistakes.

Not SELLING Mistakes surely it has to be sPelling .

 

[JohnGreydanus]

Not SELLING Mistakes surely it has to be sPelling .

Agree, both spelling and grammar in the scam emails are easy to spot the misteaks.

 

[Pipeliner]

Two pieces of advice for making online transactions:

Always use PayPal or similar for any transaction with unknown parties or with known organisations which offer that facility, such as Uber. Only give your credit card details to persons and/or companies that you know to be legitimate.

Set up a second bank account and keep around $2 in it, and use that account number to receive payments from third parties. As soon as you’ve received the money transfer it into your main account. That way any scammer trying to access that account will not be able to get any money.

 

[JohnGreydanus]

Two pieces of advice for making online transactions:

Always use PayPal or similar for any transaction with unknown parties or with known organisations which offer that facility, such as Uber. Only give your credit card details to persons and/or companies that you know to be legitimate.

Set up a second bank account and keep around $2 in it, and use that account number to receive payments from third parties. As soon as you’ve received the money transfer it into your main account. That way any scammer trying to access that account will not be able to get any money.

A second bank account? Maybe if you can open two fee free accounts, use two different banks perhaps.

Here is what I learned about this quote "Only give your credit card details to persons and/or companies that you know to be legitimate."

I was using the Maccas app which uses debit card details for occasional purchases. I'm in Queensland, but one day, somehow, somebody was buying ice cream and milkshakes in Victoria. Of course, I got the emailed receipt. Spent hours trying to reach Maccas but they have no interest in helping or even wanting to know about it.

The best advice was from the bank, "Do you want to report fraud?" Yes, I do. What that does is immediately they refund the money and then require Maccas to prove the transaction.

And that's all you hear about it, people got free treats, Maccas lost money, ha ha!

 

[Littleboy8]

A second bank account? Maybe if you can open two fee free accounts, use two different banks perhaps.

Here is what I learned about this quote "Only give your credit card details to persons and/or companies that you know to be legitimate."

I was using the Maccas app which uses debit card details for occasional purchases. I'm in Queensland, but one day, somehow, somebody was buying ice cream and milkshakes in Victoria. Of course, I got the emailed receipt. Spent hours trying to reach Maccas but they have no interest in helping or even wanting to know about it.

The best advice was from the bank, "Do you want to report fraud?" Yes, I do. What that does is immediately they refund the money and then require Maccas to prove the transaction.

And that's all you hear about it, people got free treats, Maccas lost money, ha ha!

good

 

[SGH]

I nearly had this happen last week, I was reading some new non diet mineral supplement article ad on my phone and when the bottom line came down, I thought why not, for $120, who's it going to hurt. Well as they would not let me use PayPal which is always my first choice of payment, and when I used my Westpac CC they had a dumby spit because the bank refused payment.
Long story short, I received a msg from the bank advising me that they had rejected a request for funds of $299 from BlahdBlah as they were considered dodgy brothers.

 

[Littleboy8]

I nearly had this happen last week, I was reading some new non diet mineral supplement article ad on my phone and when the bottom line came down, I thought why not, for $120, who's it going to hurt. Well as they would not let me use PayPal which is always my first choice of payment, and when I used my Westpac CC they had a dumby spit because the bank refused payment.
Long story short, I received a msg from the bank advising me that they had rejected a request for funds of $299 from BlahdBlah as they were considered dodgy brothers.

Well that’s a good news story

 

[PeterAUS53]

really, no red flags when someone in Qld buys an old couch (that a charity mob said was below par) in NSW. Really, I'd be selling my shares in Westpac on the basis they rewarded someone that broke EVERY rule they tell customers not to do.

The problem is, op shops want everything that's being donated as brand spanking new, not a used at all by anyone. My wife found this out. Also they are now charging retail prices not second hand prices.

I had a situation a couple of months ago where suddenly 3 purchases within 3 minutes from first purchase to third happened. I gota text mrssahe from my bank and called them immediately had to wait nearly 30 mins to talk to someone in the Philippines about it. The bank had blocked my card which is great and I got my money back as the funds weren't cleared.

I contacted one of the places that an online purchase that had been made, advising them of the fraud as I didn't want them to send the product and loose money too. They were able to supply the name address info of the scammer which was great. They lost nothing and neither did I. So new credit card sent out very quickly as well.
I received an email supposedly from my internet service provider advising they couldn't debit my card as it was invalid. Still being half asleep, the email looked real so I provided the details. I didn't notice the link took me to a bogus website with a stolen website look and changed my details with what I thought was legit. It wasn't until I woke a bit more and thought they didn't have my card details O pay it by BPay.

I then had a closer look at the email and saw the link was bogus. So back on to the bank and reported it. Fortunately they didnt have time to take any money out and bank issued another card with my humble apologies.

Then a week later I noticed what I thought was another scammer as I didn't recognise the business name. Rang the bank stopped my card and wasn't until I checked other receipts it dawned on me that it was legitimate. So called up the bank and advised them of my mistake. After the first 2 I was getting paranoid about card skimming and the dark Web. So 3 credit cards in 3 weeks. Pain, having to change info at all the legit places like HCF, phone, internet, paid subscriptions places every time. Some you have to call up.

So now I check my bank account several times a day. I'm very scam aware but anyone can be caught out.

 

[Defiant540]

I received an e-mail supposedly from Google that my account has had suspicious use. the name Google was spelt ""Googl and the alert was spelt ""Alertt. and another link alert was spelt Äleet" so watch out for selling mistakes.

spelling ???

 

[Littleboy8]

spelling ???

Didn’t see that

 

[Nardia]

Well here we go again.
A fool and their money are easily parted!
This stupid women handed over her details to an unknown person and got scammed!
Surprise Surprise!
Why would the bank give this stupid women any money back?
No one forced this women to hand over her details.
How many times do people have to be told?
why was it Westpac’s fault and why did they need to apologise?
This women was a complete and utter fool!

I feel sorry for this lady, it gets harder each day to stop scammers as they seem to get more devious each day.

 

[Maz01]

I have had scammers trying to take money from my account, but most times I have had my bank send me an email as soon as it happens asking me to ring them because of a problem they had found.
ANZ have always been good with keeping their eye out for scammers, while on the phone with them they have gone through a few transactions with me and found a couple other transactions with a small amount taken from my account. They then refunded me the all the money that the scammers had taken.

If it was me I would have taken all my money from westpac and given my busines to another bank like ANZ

 

[deni67]

What do you mean by female dog of a problem I don’t understand your answer

What do you call a female dog, it starts with a B and ends in a H.

 

[Littleboy8]

What do you call a female dog, it starts with a B and ends in a H.

okay