False billing trend surges despite Aussies grow awareness of other scams
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In an age where technology has become an integral part of our daily lives, the threat of cybercrime looms larger than ever.
Australians, particularly those who have embraced the digital world later in life, are becoming increasingly savvy when identifying potential scams.
However, despite this growing awareness, there's a concerning trend: false billing scams are catching even the most vigilant among us.
Inbound tour operator Meng Wong's harrowing experience is a cautionary tale for all Australians.
After his client transferred $80,000 to a scammer's account, believing it to be payment for Wong's travel company, the stark reality of the situation became clear.
The scammer had manipulated the billing information, leading to a significant financial loss.
'I love this country, I’ve lived here for 30 years, but our banking system is a joke,' Wong said, expressing his frustration with the banking system’s vulnerabilities.
'How can scammers so easily trick our banks and steal tens of thousands of dollars?'
The scammer's method was deceptively simple: fake emails and invoices with altered bank details, yet retaining Wong's business name to appear legitimate.
‘I sent [the client] the final itinerary...and I asked them to make the final payment,’ Wong said.
‘As the group was about to come, I looked at the [invoice] again, and I saw that they had sent it to a different bank and a different bank account number.’
‘Money can actually go into a bank account whereby the account name and the account number absolutely do not match,’ Wong added.
‘The system basically allows the money to go in and the money to go out unabated and without any questions asked.’
Suncorp Bank, involved in this case, said they restrict accounts when notified of fraudulent activity.
‘Unfortunately, in some cases, funds are transferred out of the Suncorp Bank account prior to concerns being reported to us,’ a spokesperson said.
A letter from the National Australia Bank addressed to Wong's company stated that because the funds had been transferred to a Suncorp account, the bank was unable to take any further action.
They also mentioned that the Australian Financial Complaints Authority was unlikely to intervene, expressing regret for the situation, which NAB described as an ‘inconvenience.’
Wong couldn’t get his money back, and he's worried the scammers might try to cheat him again soon.
The Australian banking industry is not turning a blind eye to this growing issue.
The Scam-Safe Accord, a commitment by banks including Suncorp, aims to implement measures to combat cybercriminals.
One such measure is the cross-checking of account names before transactions are processed, a system that has seen success in reducing fraud in other countries.
'The Dutch have done it, they did it back in 2017, and by implementing that they had a reduction of 81 per cent of fraud and scams,' independent fraud analyst Brett Warfield reported.
'The United Kingdom did it in 2020, and they had a 35 per cent reduction the following year in fraud and scams, so it works.'
Warfield suggested that becoming a target for scammers might start with innocent actions like using public Wi-Fi, enabling cybercriminals to monitor your online behaviour and accessing your email credentials and passwords.
‘Don't do any personal banking, don't do any banking on behalf of your organisation—be very careful about what you access when you're at that wi-fi hotspot,’ he said.
While these measures are a step in the right direction, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and experts like Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe believe that mandatory, enforceable codes across industries are necessary to hold entities accountable and protect consumers.
‘The codes should set a high bar for the initiatives that industry needs to be putting in place, and where that high bar is not met…we think there is a case for consumers to be compensated,’ she said.
The ACCC's latest Targeting Scams report indicated that while overall losses to scams have declined, false billing scams continue to rise.
Scammers are targeting high-value transactions, such as real estate purchases and travel, to maximise their ill-gotten gains.
You can watch ABC News’ coverage below:
Credit: ABC News In-depth / YouTube
What do you think of this story, members? Have you or someone else fell victim to this type of scam? Share them in the comments below!
Australians, particularly those who have embraced the digital world later in life, are becoming increasingly savvy when identifying potential scams.
However, despite this growing awareness, there's a concerning trend: false billing scams are catching even the most vigilant among us.
Inbound tour operator Meng Wong's harrowing experience is a cautionary tale for all Australians.
After his client transferred $80,000 to a scammer's account, believing it to be payment for Wong's travel company, the stark reality of the situation became clear.
The scammer had manipulated the billing information, leading to a significant financial loss.
Meng Wong fell into a false billing scam after his client transferred $80,000 to a scammer’s account. Credit: ABC News In-depth / Youtube
'I love this country, I’ve lived here for 30 years, but our banking system is a joke,' Wong said, expressing his frustration with the banking system’s vulnerabilities.
'How can scammers so easily trick our banks and steal tens of thousands of dollars?'
The scammer's method was deceptively simple: fake emails and invoices with altered bank details, yet retaining Wong's business name to appear legitimate.
‘I sent [the client] the final itinerary...and I asked them to make the final payment,’ Wong said.
‘As the group was about to come, I looked at the [invoice] again, and I saw that they had sent it to a different bank and a different bank account number.’
‘Money can actually go into a bank account whereby the account name and the account number absolutely do not match,’ Wong added.
‘The system basically allows the money to go in and the money to go out unabated and without any questions asked.’
Suncorp Bank, involved in this case, said they restrict accounts when notified of fraudulent activity.
‘Unfortunately, in some cases, funds are transferred out of the Suncorp Bank account prior to concerns being reported to us,’ a spokesperson said.
A letter from the National Australia Bank addressed to Wong's company stated that because the funds had been transferred to a Suncorp account, the bank was unable to take any further action.
They also mentioned that the Australian Financial Complaints Authority was unlikely to intervene, expressing regret for the situation, which NAB described as an ‘inconvenience.’
Wong couldn’t get his money back, and he's worried the scammers might try to cheat him again soon.
The Australian banking industry is not turning a blind eye to this growing issue.
The Scam-Safe Accord, a commitment by banks including Suncorp, aims to implement measures to combat cybercriminals.
One such measure is the cross-checking of account names before transactions are processed, a system that has seen success in reducing fraud in other countries.
'The Dutch have done it, they did it back in 2017, and by implementing that they had a reduction of 81 per cent of fraud and scams,' independent fraud analyst Brett Warfield reported.
'The United Kingdom did it in 2020, and they had a 35 per cent reduction the following year in fraud and scams, so it works.'
Warfield suggested that becoming a target for scammers might start with innocent actions like using public Wi-Fi, enabling cybercriminals to monitor your online behaviour and accessing your email credentials and passwords.
‘Don't do any personal banking, don't do any banking on behalf of your organisation—be very careful about what you access when you're at that wi-fi hotspot,’ he said.
‘The codes should set a high bar for the initiatives that industry needs to be putting in place, and where that high bar is not met…we think there is a case for consumers to be compensated,’ she said.
The ACCC's latest Targeting Scams report indicated that while overall losses to scams have declined, false billing scams continue to rise.
Scammers are targeting high-value transactions, such as real estate purchases and travel, to maximise their ill-gotten gains.
You can watch ABC News’ coverage below:
Credit: ABC News In-depth / YouTube
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