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Channel Nine TV presenter falls victim to an EXTREMELY sophisticated scam and loses $35,000 – “It could happen to anyone.”
As cyber criminals scramble for more ways to improve their cruel tactics, it has become increasingly evident that they are not fussy about their victims. We here at the SDC would like to remind you, again, to be vigilant with every single message or email you receive from a stranger – or in this case, a familiar face.
Recently, a high-profile journalist fell victim to fraudsters disguised as employees for her bank while she was in an emergency room looking after her son.
The scammers sent the Channel Nine TV presenter, Jess Ridley, a text message from a seemingly genuine phone number linked to Westpac on Friday.
The text warned Ms Ridely, whose child had broken his arm, that they had detected a suspicious transaction in her account.
In a phone call, the scammer claimed to be an employee from the Westpac Fraud Team. He briefed her through multiple verification methods and cited a reference number to appear credible.
Ms Ridley was made to undergo a fake series of steps to make her account 'safer' over the weekend - until she realised on Monday that she fell for an elaborate scam, losing $35,000 from her account.
The TV reporter detailed that when she failed to see the money she had supposedly transferred to her own account, she called the scammer's number and was transferred to a legitimate Westpac employee.
The scammers pretended to be from Westpac. Image Credit: The Millenial Source
“On Monday morning, I called Westpac on the same number (as the scammers had used) and quoted my case number,” she explained.
'” just got silence on the other end of the line initially and this person just said we don't know anything about this – and the penny just dropped,”
“It could happen to anyone,” she continued.
“That's why I thought it was worth speaking up about it because it does sound like there's a lot of this happening,”
The scammers are suspected to be using ‘caller ID spoofing’ or ‘over-stamping technology’, meaning that they use legitimate phone numbers of a business to trick consumers into believing they are genuine.
Ms Ridley said that the scammer’s first text message was so convincing that it didn’t send off any alarm bells when she received it. She added that she had previously received legitimate authorised messages from the same Westpac number, so she didn't have any doubts.
In an interview with Radio 2GB’s Ben Fordham, Mr Fordham said: “You can google that number and I've done it...it comes up as Westpac, you'd presume you're talking to Westpac,”
The Channel Nine TV presenter. Image Credit: @jessicaridleytv
The TV reporter said she felt relieved at first, thinking that the potentially fraudulent transaction was being taken care of by her bank.
“You're thinking 'Oh great, Westpac is straight onto this',” she shared.
She said that the scammers had taken advantage of the fact that her attention was divided between the fraud in her account and her son in the hospital.
“I guess my failure was I had a two year old with a snapped arm in an emergency centre. It really hurts when you look at that and go I'm a small business owner and this guy has continued to call me on the same number while I'm, sitting in triage with my son,”
The journalist insisted that she was tricked by a former employee of the bank.
“Now looking back at it, I feel like this person would have had to work in one of these Westpac call centres,”
She added that the bank was just as shocked as she was at how incredibly sophisticated the scam was.
“They told me that they couldn’t believe the scale of the sophistication. Now it's triggered an investigation of the scam itself within the bank.”
In the end, Westpac decided to cover Ms Ridley's losses. In a statement, Westpac warned Australians to be vigilant about scam activity.
Beware of cyber criminals. Image Credit: iMoney
A spokesperson urged: “Due to confidentiality obligations we are unable to comment on individual customer matters. However as a general statement, there has been a rise in reported scam activity, and we encourage all Australians to be vigilant,”
“Westpac invests heavily in scam prevention and has robust processes in place to alert and protect customers. We work hard to recover money for customers where possible,”
“Customers should be wary of any unexpected calls, text messages or emails claiming to be from their bank or other reputable organisation, and always stop to consider what they are asking for,”
“If in doubt, ask for a reference number, and call back on a publicly listed number to confirm if the call was genuine. Your bank will never ask you to click a link to log into your banking or make a payment,”
“If you think you may have been scammed, contact your bank immediately. Westpac customers can call 132 032 to seek assistance or report suspicious activity.”
Be equipped with the necessary knowledge to combat cyber criminals by checking out this Guide to Cyber Safety eBook we prepared. If you’ve received any dodgy text messages, we’d love it if you helped to spread awareness and prevent others from falling victim to a potential scam by speaking up about it in the SDC’s Scam Watch forum.
What are your thoughts on this article? Share them with us in the comments!
Learn more tips on Cybersecurity by watching the video below:
Video Credit: IBMorg
