Ruthless scammer targets terminally ill woman and wipes out her entire life savings
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In a heart-wrenching incident, a Victorian woman battling stage-four breast cancer was cruelly scammed out of her entire life savings.
Carolyn Coster, a resident of West Gippsland, was targeted by a ruthless scammer who exploited her vulnerability and stole $5000 from her.
Coster, 58, had just returned home from LaTrobe Regional Hospital a few days before Christmas when she received a call from a man who identified himself as 'Robert Brown'.
The call, originating from a Sydney number, was a well-orchestrated scam, with the man claiming that there was an issue with Coster's PayPal account.
Marg Thomson, a friend of Coster's who has since set up an online fundraiser to help her, described the scammer as 'evil'.
She explained how the scammer preyed on Coster's vulnerability, taking advantage of her weakened state.
Coster had just received the devastating news that her cancer had metastasized to her bones, and she was under immense stress.
'She got home from the hospital in the morning, and that day she got a call from the scammer—which she normally wouldn't answer—but she just received the news that she's metastatic with a poor prognosis,' Thomson said.
'I think she is down to 40-something kilos, and she lives on her own.'
'She's under the most extraordinary stress. She's had everything to deal with, plus Christmas. Then this guy rings her out of the blue, she [answers] the phone, and [that’s when] it all started.'
The scammer kept Coster on the phone for six hours on the first day.
Over the next few days, he called back multiple times, 'haranguing and harassing her' according to Thomson, until Coster finally gave him the number and pin for her Bendigo Bank account.
Coster had received an email about a fraudulent transaction on her PayPal account a few months earlier, which led her to think that the call was legitimate.
However, it remains unclear how the scammers were able to coerce Coster’s information out of her.
When Coster checked her bank account, she was devastated to find that her entire balance of $5000 was gone.
Thomson shared that her friend was in great distress.
'She said, “I'm just so ashamed, it's all my fault.”'
The money she had lost was not just her life savings but also her hope for a peaceful future.
Coster had planned to use the money to move to a country cottage, where she hoped to live out the remainder of her life in tranquillity.
'This is all of her life savings,' Thomson added.
'If she doesn't get the bond and the rent in advance for her cottage by the 13th January, she's going to lose it.'
It is understood, however, that the amount Coster lost to the scammer would be reimbursed by Bendigo Bank.
A spokesperson for the bank said they work hard to support their customers when they are victims of scams and fraud.
'It is, however, extremely difficult to recover money that has been transferred to scammers,' the spokesperson added.
'Bendigo Bank attempts to recover funds lost to scams wherever possible, and it goes without saying [that] when the bank is at fault, we will reimburse customers for the loss of funds,'
Have you or someone you know been a victim of a scam? Share your experiences and tips for avoiding scams in the comments below. Let's help each other stay safe from scams.
Carolyn Coster, a resident of West Gippsland, was targeted by a ruthless scammer who exploited her vulnerability and stole $5000 from her.
Coster, 58, had just returned home from LaTrobe Regional Hospital a few days before Christmas when she received a call from a man who identified himself as 'Robert Brown'.
The call, originating from a Sydney number, was a well-orchestrated scam, with the man claiming that there was an issue with Coster's PayPal account.
A terminally ill woman was scammed out of her life savings. Image source: Freepik.
Marg Thomson, a friend of Coster's who has since set up an online fundraiser to help her, described the scammer as 'evil'.
She explained how the scammer preyed on Coster's vulnerability, taking advantage of her weakened state.
Coster had just received the devastating news that her cancer had metastasized to her bones, and she was under immense stress.
'She got home from the hospital in the morning, and that day she got a call from the scammer—which she normally wouldn't answer—but she just received the news that she's metastatic with a poor prognosis,' Thomson said.
'I think she is down to 40-something kilos, and she lives on her own.'
'She's under the most extraordinary stress. She's had everything to deal with, plus Christmas. Then this guy rings her out of the blue, she [answers] the phone, and [that’s when] it all started.'
The scammer kept Coster on the phone for six hours on the first day.
Over the next few days, he called back multiple times, 'haranguing and harassing her' according to Thomson, until Coster finally gave him the number and pin for her Bendigo Bank account.
Coster had received an email about a fraudulent transaction on her PayPal account a few months earlier, which led her to think that the call was legitimate.
However, it remains unclear how the scammers were able to coerce Coster’s information out of her.
When Coster checked her bank account, she was devastated to find that her entire balance of $5000 was gone.
Thomson shared that her friend was in great distress.
'She said, “I'm just so ashamed, it's all my fault.”'
The money she had lost was not just her life savings but also her hope for a peaceful future.
Coster had planned to use the money to move to a country cottage, where she hoped to live out the remainder of her life in tranquillity.
'This is all of her life savings,' Thomson added.
'If she doesn't get the bond and the rent in advance for her cottage by the 13th January, she's going to lose it.'
It is understood, however, that the amount Coster lost to the scammer would be reimbursed by Bendigo Bank.
A spokesperson for the bank said they work hard to support their customers when they are victims of scams and fraud.
'It is, however, extremely difficult to recover money that has been transferred to scammers,' the spokesperson added.
'Bendigo Bank attempts to recover funds lost to scams wherever possible, and it goes without saying [that] when the bank is at fault, we will reimburse customers for the loss of funds,'
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