Here at the SDC, we want to encourage everyone to be aware of potential scams, especially those involving banks.

We've heard of so many cases of telephone and digital scams that target unsuspecting seniors, and we hope reporting on them helps prevent further cases.

Recently, a couple from Victoria shared a horror story of what unfolded after they were targeted over the phone by scammers.

James Green and Sarah Gerendarsi had their entire life savings, $100,000, stolen after they followed the lead of a fraudster pretending to be a Westpac employee.

A young couple from Victoria shared a horror story of what unfolded after they were targeted over the phone by scammers. Credit: Pexels/Michael Burrows.

It all began when Green received a seemingly legitimate text from Uber asking him to update his bank details. But little did he know, this was only the first step in a sinister plan.

An hour and a half later, he received another text from the same Westpac line he had been contacted on before, warning him that scammers were trying to take $5,500 from his account.

In a state of alarm and uncertainty, Green hurriedly called the security number included in the text.

He spoke to a person pretending to be a trustworthy Westpac employee and was convinced that he was doing the right thing when he began to transfer his money into a new account created by the said representative.

In the four days that followed, he sent practically all of their life savings to that account, only to find that the money had vanished and the 'Westpac employee' was no longer reachable.

The scammer deceived Green into transferring the money into a 'safer' account. Credit: Pexels/RODNAE Productions.

The couple immediately informed Westpac and were eventually offered a paltry sum of $3,000 as a settlement. James and Sarah were understandably unconvinced and frustrated, as they had heard of other similar cases dealing with much higher amounts of restitution.

They decided to raise the case with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) and expressed the view that Westpac's phone line should have been better secured against these kinds of frauds.

'The fact they lost control and security of their text line that they have legitimately contacted you before, I think that brings some responsibility,' said Mr Green.

'They should be more secure with people who can access their text line for their customers.'

Key Takeaways

• James Green and Sarah Gerendarsi, a young couple from Victoria, had their dreams of financial security shattered when they fell victim to a phishing scam.
• The cunning con artist posed as a representative from Westpac and convinced the couple to hand over their banking information.
• The couple are taking their case to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, believing that the bank's phone line was not secure enough to protect them from this type of scam.

The Confirmation of Payee (CoP) system, currently operating in the UK, is a powerful tool in the fight against financial fraud and deception.

This system works by cross-referencing account information with a database of verified identities, ensuring that account numbers match the real person's name, making it difficult for scammers to use fake or stolen information to gain access to someone else's funds.

The CoP system makes sure payments aren't sent to the wrong account by mistake. Credit: Pexels/Pavel Danilyuk.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recognised the potential benefits of such a system and has encouraged the government to introduce a similar process in Australia.

This would be a significant step in protecting consumers and their hard-earned savings from the claws of ruthless scammers by providing a more secure and reliable way to confirm the identity of account holders.

Introducing the Confirmation of Payee system (CoP) in Australia would be a major step towards a more secure banking system and would help to reduce the number of cases of fraud in the country.

Members, please take this story as a strong warning and remember to remain vigilant at all times when it comes to scammers.

If your 'bank' calls you, don't give any details out unless you are 100% sure it is legitimate; politely ask for their name and a callback number, and press them for further information if needed. You can then cross-reference this information online.

The ACCC has encouraged the government to introduce the 'Confirmation of Payee' system in Australia, and we here at the SDC firmly support this because we feel it would make a world of difference in the prevention of these kinds of scams.

What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments!

 

[Liz]

I don't like with my bank that you put the name of whom you are paying and then it tells you it doesn't go on names just account numbers and bsb's. There needs to be more security.

 

[rehandra]

Here at the SDC, we want to encourage everyone to be aware of potential scams, especially those involving banks.

We've heard of so many cases of telephone and digital scams that target unsuspecting seniors, and we hope reporting on them helps prevent further cases.

Recently, a couple from Victoria shared a horror story of what unfolded after they were targeted over the phone by scammers.

James Green and Sarah Gerendarsi had their entire life savings, $100,000, stolen after they followed the lead of a fraudster pretending to be a Westpac employee.

View attachment 11911

A young couple from Victoria shared a horror story of what unfolded after they were targeted over the phone by scammers. Credit: Pexels/Michael Burrows.

It all began when Green received a seemingly legitimate text from Uber asking him to update his bank details. But little did he know, this was only the first step in a sinister plan.

An hour and a half later, he received another text from the same Westpac line he had been contacted on before, warning him that scammers were trying to take $5,500 from his account.

In a state of alarm and uncertainty, Green hurriedly called the security number included in the text.

He spoke to a person pretending to be a trustworthy Westpac employee and was convinced that he was doing the right thing when he began to transfer his money into a new account created by the said representative.

In the four days that followed, he sent practically all of their life savings to that account, only to find that the money had vanished and the 'Westpac employee' was no longer reachable.

View attachment 11912

The scammer deceived Green into transferring the money into a 'safer' account. Credit: Pexels/RODNAE Productions.

The couple immediately informed Westpac and were eventually offered a paltry sum of $3,000 as a settlement. James and Sarah were understandably unconvinced and frustrated, as they had heard of other similar cases dealing with much higher amounts of restitution.

They decided to raise the case with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) and expressed the view that Westpac's phone line should have been better secured against these kinds of frauds.

'The fact they lost control and security of their text line that they have legitimately contacted you before, I think that brings some responsibility,' said Mr Green.

'They should be more secure with people who can access their text line for their customers.'

Key Takeaways

• James Green and Sarah Gerendarsi, a young couple from Victoria, had their dreams of financial security shattered when they fell victim to a phishing scam.
• The cunning con artist posed as a representative from Westpac and convinced the couple to hand over their banking information.
• The couple are taking their case to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, believing that the bank's phone line was not secure enough to protect them from this type of scam.

The Confirmation of Payee (CoP) system, currently operating in the UK, is a powerful tool in the fight against financial fraud and deception.

This system works by cross-referencing account information with a database of verified identities, ensuring that account numbers match the real person's name, making it difficult for scammers to use fake or stolen information to gain access to someone else's funds.

View attachment 11913

The CoP system makes sure payments aren't sent to the wrong account by mistake. Credit: Pexels/Pavel Danilyuk.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recognised the potential benefits of such a system and has encouraged the government to introduce a similar process in Australia.

This would be a significant step in protecting consumers and their hard-earned savings from the claws of ruthless scammers by providing a more secure and reliable way to confirm the identity of account holders.

Introducing the Confirmation of Payee system (CoP) in Australia would be a major step towards a more secure banking system and would help to reduce the number of cases of fraud in the country.

Members, please take this story as a strong warning and remember to remain vigilant at all times when it comes to scammers.

If your 'bank' calls you, don't give any details out unless you are 100% sure it is legitimate; politely ask for their name and a callback number, and press them for further information if needed. You can then cross-reference this information online.

The ACCC has encouraged the government to introduce the 'Confirmation of Payee' system in Australia, and we here at the SDC firmly support this because we feel it would make a world of difference in the prevention of these kinds of scams.

What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments!

What is wrong with people? There is enough information out there about these scams and they tell you to hang up and contact the bank direct and do so by NOT using any phone numbers or links in the texts or emails that you receive. I am so over hearing these sob stories. Just do not respond to any emails or phone messages you receive unsolicited from any financial institution. Need to use the brain you were born with people.

 

[riskydave]

Here at the SDC, we want to encourage everyone to be aware of potential scams, especially those involving banks.

We've heard of so many cases of telephone and digital scams that target unsuspecting seniors, and we hope reporting on them helps prevent further cases.

Recently, a couple from Victoria shared a horror story of what unfolded after they were targeted over the phone by scammers.

James Green and Sarah Gerendarsi had their entire life savings, $100,000, stolen after they followed the lead of a fraudster pretending to be a Westpac employee.

View attachment 11911

A young couple from Victoria shared a horror story of what unfolded after they were targeted over the phone by scammers. Credit: Pexels/Michael Burrows.

It all began when Green received a seemingly legitimate text from Uber asking him to update his bank details. But little did he know, this was only the first step in a sinister plan.

An hour and a half later, he received another text from the same Westpac line he had been contacted on before, warning him that scammers were trying to take $5,500 from his account.

In a state of alarm and uncertainty, Green hurriedly called the security number included in the text.

He spoke to a person pretending to be a trustworthy Westpac employee and was convinced that he was doing the right thing when he began to transfer his money into a new account created by the said representative.

In the four days that followed, he sent practically all of their life savings to that account, only to find that the money had vanished and the 'Westpac employee' was no longer reachable.

View attachment 11912

The scammer deceived Green into transferring the money into a 'safer' account. Credit: Pexels/RODNAE Productions.

The couple immediately informed Westpac and were eventually offered a paltry sum of $3,000 as a settlement. James and Sarah were understandably unconvinced and frustrated, as they had heard of other similar cases dealing with much higher amounts of restitution.

They decided to raise the case with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) and expressed the view that Westpac's phone line should have been better secured against these kinds of frauds.

'The fact they lost control and security of their text line that they have legitimately contacted you before, I think that brings some responsibility,' said Mr Green.

'They should be more secure with people who can access their text line for their customers.'

Key Takeaways

• James Green and Sarah Gerendarsi, a young couple from Victoria, had their dreams of financial security shattered when they fell victim to a phishing scam.
• The cunning con artist posed as a representative from Westpac and convinced the couple to hand over their banking information.
• The couple are taking their case to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, believing that the bank's phone line was not secure enough to protect them from this type of scam.

The Confirmation of Payee (CoP) system, currently operating in the UK, is a powerful tool in the fight against financial fraud and deception.

This system works by cross-referencing account information with a database of verified identities, ensuring that account numbers match the real person's name, making it difficult for scammers to use fake or stolen information to gain access to someone else's funds.

View attachment 11913

The CoP system makes sure payments aren't sent to the wrong account by mistake. Credit: Pexels/Pavel Danilyuk.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recognised the potential benefits of such a system and has encouraged the government to introduce a similar process in Australia.

This would be a significant step in protecting consumers and their hard-earned savings from the claws of ruthless scammers by providing a more secure and reliable way to confirm the identity of account holders.

Introducing the Confirmation of Payee system (CoP) in Australia would be a major step towards a more secure banking system and would help to reduce the number of cases of fraud in the country.

Members, please take this story as a strong warning and remember to remain vigilant at all times when it comes to scammers.

If your 'bank' calls you, don't give any details out unless you are 100% sure it is legitimate; politely ask for their name and a callback number, and press them for further information if needed. You can then cross-reference this information online.

The ACCC has encouraged the government to introduce the 'Confirmation of Payee' system in Australia, and we here at the SDC firmly support this because we feel it would make a world of difference in the prevention of these kinds of scams.

What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments!

A text from Uber asking to update your bank details, isn't that a bit like receiving a text From Westpac telling you to update your Registration on your car!!...H E L L O !.

 

[riskydave]

What is wrong with people? There is enough information out there about these scams and they tell you to hang up and contact the bank direct and do so by NOT using any phone numbers or links in the texts or emails that you receive. I am so over hearing these sob stories. Just do not respond to any emails or phone messages you receive unsolicited from any financial institution. Need to use the brain you were born with people.

Some were not born with one, have to use someone else's all the time that's the problem.

 

[Zemo]

We received an email from "Westpac" last year, complete with the legit Westpac logo) offering to extend our daily payout limit to $5,000. If we didn't want this, we had to contact a certain phone number ((subsequently, we found out that this was a fraudulent number). Thinking this was another service offered by Westpac, we didn't do anything. A few months later, we got a cold call from "Optus" saying our phone accounts were compromised, as well as our internet connections. The scammer then gave us huis supposed employee number, address and then he quoted our full names, address and Optus account number to "establish his bona fides", he said. Then he said that Optus recommended we download a program called Anydesk. $30,000-odd out of ppcket later, here we are.

 

[immanuwel]

Talking about online scams, I lost $10 G USD to Grand Pacific Trade, via Tesla adds on line!
Posing as a Bitcoin investing opportunity. They were initially very proactive to get your money to the “minimum” trading level of $10.000USD then totally disappeared.
On contacting my banks they failed to trace the money! Do people be aware of this scamming outfit!!

 

[rehandra]

We received an email from "Westpac" last year, complete with the legit Westpac logo) offering to extend our daily payout limit to $5,000. If we didn't want this, we had to contact a certain phone number ((subsequently, we found out that this was a fraudulent number). Thinking this was another service offered by Westpac, we didn't do anything. A few months later, we got a cold call from "Optus" saying our phone accounts were compromised, as well as our internet connections. The scammer then gave us huis supposed employee number, address and then he quoted our full names, address and Optus account number to "establish his bona fides", he said. Then he said that Optus recommended we download a program called Anydesk. $30,000-odd out of ppcket later, here we are.

Your bank will never send you text messages asking you to confirm your account details or reset your password. Such SMSes are from scammers. Delete the message and avoid clicking the link on the text.

 

[Zemo]

Your bank will never send you text messages asking you to confirm your account details or reset your password. Such SMSes are from scammers. Delete the message and avoid clicking the link on the text.

We never clicked any links from Westpac, just the Anydesk one "recommended by Optus to fix the scamming problem", as he said. The info he gave us sounded so perfect, we didn't worry. How he got that info on us, we've got no idea. We know how they operate now, but, as it sounded so legit then from this bogus Optus scammer, that's when they got us. Perhaps it was all set up from the original Westpac offer to us of increasing our daily limit. Even so, they still managed to take $15,000 or so in three transactions on one day. You live and, unfortunately, learn ...

 

[Mfry]

Who do we talk to, to get the banks and financial institutions to adopt the Confirmation of Payee system. It seems common sense that they should match account numbers with names if it can help prevent fraud.

 

[The Prawn]

What is wrong with people? There is enough information out there about these scams and they tell you to hang up and contact the bank direct and do so by NOT using any phone numbers or links in the texts or emails that you receive. I am so over hearing these sob stories. Just do not respond to any emails or phone messages you receive unsolicited from any financial institution. Need to use the brain you were born with people.

Totally agree with you. We have been drilled and drilled on these scams people need to WAKE UP! and ignore these texts and calls. "seemingly legitimate text from Uber asking him to update his bank details". And "hurriedly called the security number included in the text". Come on man you ignore these and log into your Uber account and check it yourself, or call their support line to verify the message. Use the banks number on the website or on the App. It's not that hard. And how do these scammers create bank accounts so easily from overseas? And banks phone lines getting Spoofed? Aussie banks have the weakest security in the world that's why we are getting smashed by these foreign and local crooks.

 

[DrivingGirl]

I think the main reason these scams from banks are so successful is that in order to speak to a bank staffer to verify or not that it’s a scam, can take hanging on the phone for up to an hour or more!
They need to bring in an almost instant verification system OR be prepared to replace the funds lost. It’s all about money for them and the criminals know it.
How dare they offer $3000.00 in compensation for $100,000 when their text number was allowed to be compromised - if you’re not in the wrong you offer nothing! If you’re in the wrong, you pay up!!

 

[rehandra]

Totally agree with you. We have been drilled and drilled on these scams people need to WAKE UP! and ignore these texts and calls. "seemingly legitimate text from Uber asking him to update his bank details". And "hurriedly called the security number included in the text". Come on man you ignore these and log into your Uber account and check it yourself, or call their support line to verify the message. Use the banks number on the website or on the App. It's not that hard. And how do these scammers create bank accounts so easily from overseas? And banks phone lines getting Spoofed? Aussie banks have the weakest security in the world that's why we are getting smashed by these foreign and local crooks.

Any calls or texts we get (and we get them believe you me) we totally ignore. If I think it may be legit I ring the bank myself and check it out. Even phone calls purporting to be from charities seeking donations; I just say to them "sorry we do not do business over the phone and giving out our credit card number. There are too many scams these days I tell them and then I hang up.

 

[macqueen]

Last week I had an email from my ' anti- vitus ' provider Norton, saying my subscription was up for re-newal at the cost of $500/ 3 years, my original payment was around $26 for 1 year, I called the supplied number to cancel and was sent to a website to get the "cancellation form" after I submitted it a 'supervisor' came onling line to finalise things, saying that I will be refunded all payments ( I had paid nothing so far ) he told me that his office would refund me by way of a GIFTCARD, that's when I hung up and called my bank, who immediately cancelled my card and informed me that someone had just tried to access my account but got nothing.
Not something you expect from a security service!

 

[joshram]

What is wrong with people? There is enough information out there about these scams and they tell you to hang up and contact the bank direct and do so by NOT using any phone numbers or links in the texts or emails that you receive. I am so over hearing these sob stories. Just do not respond to any emails or phone messages you receive unsolicited from any financial institution. Need to use the brain you were born with people.

Scammers are so good at what they do. My friend had dealings with Optus and the next day received a message to say she needed to pay $100 to complete the service. The email looked legit, had logos and addresses in place. Two days later she received a receipt which appeared to contain all the correct information. However my friend became suspicious because the logo looked a bit fuzzy and the print was a bit faded. She contacted Optus who told her it was a scam. Luckily, she only lost $100.

 

[Tootie]

They are a bunch of 'low-life' thieves. I NEVER answer texts or calls from unknown numbers (i.e. not in my contacts list), and ALWAYS delete suspicious emails. Hang up on landline calls from scammers, too. Don't even bother speaking to them, as soon as I hear their spiel.

Have warned my spouse to immediately delete any fraudulent looking text messages, especially those with attached links.

We really need to be ultra vigilant to protect ourselves against those scum!

 

[Ozzy_ian]

why cant people read what is advertised every where
if you get any emails or SMS to give your bank details or anything private you have to ignore then if you are not sure you ring your bank DIRECT & they will confirm straight away that it is a scam
also one I have been receiving now is "MY TOLL" to say you have an unpaid trip & to click on this link to check or fix it??
soon as you click the site you are gone into their hands so never touch these OK
it was funny as the toll they told me the month it was done & my car had not been out of Wollongong to Sydney for over 3 years so it flashes SCAM straight away
so delete any thing that looks ODD & phone the company yourself

 

[macqueen]

I've had 3 of these threatening toll scams in the last month, the funny thing is my car is in South Australia, we don't have any tolls here and my car hasn't left SA in years.

 

[DiRose]

Last week I had an email from my ' anti- vitus ' provider Norton, saying my subscription was up for re-newal at the cost of $500/ 3 years, my original payment was around $26 for 1 year, I called the supplied number to cancel and was sent to a website to get the "cancellation form" after I submitted it a 'supervisor' came onling line to finalise things, saying that I will be refunded all payments ( I had paid nothing so far ) he told me that his office would refund me by way of a GIFTCARD, that's when I hung up and called my bank, who immediately cancelled my card and informed me that someone had just tried to access my account but got nothing.
Not something you expect from a security service!

I posted just last week to all my FB friends about Virus Protection Company Imitators. Norton was one of the significant ones mentioned. It was posted on this Seniors Discount Club news as well.

 

[LaniK]

If I get contacted by email or text I dont even reply. I visit the bank (bit hard now as they are closing) or I contact the bank myself via phone. I NEVER EVER click on a link. Even with Telstra - just tell the scammer to buggar off and that you will go into the Telstra office which is 5 minutes away and check it out. I immediately block any number which does not "add" up in my book. Also I read a hint that you never say "yes" when asked a question on the phone as it has been reported that the scammers tape your replies.