Bank refunds pensioner's scammed money…and then snatches it back?
- Replies 53
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.
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:
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.
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!
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:
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.
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!
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