Scam alert: Couple loses $30,000; Bank's response disappoints

In an age where we should be enjoying the fruits of our labour and the peace of mind that comes with financial security, scams targeting seniors are on the rise, leaving many in our community feeling vulnerable and exposed.

The story of Rod and Mary, a couple well-known in the Australian comedy scene, is a stark reminder of the cunning tactics scammers employ and the unexpected responses victims might face from institutions that are supposed to protect them.


Rod Quantock and Mary Kenneally, a Victorian couple who have brought laughter to many through their live theatre and television work, recently fell prey to a sophisticated bank scam that cost them a staggering $30,000.

‘I could hear Rod in the back room talking to someone on the phone... for a long time,’ Ms Kenneally stated.

‘Rod sounded very serious. A little bit alarming.’


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Comedy legends Rod Quantock and Mary Kenneally lost $30,000 to scammers. Credit: Facebook


The scammer, posing as a representative from their financial institution, Bendigo Bank, convinced Rod to transfer the funds to a new account to prevent a supposed hack.

Unfortunately, the scammer controlled the account, which was with HSBC.

The day after the fraudulent transaction, Rod, still under the influence of anaesthetic from a cardiac procedure, and Mary contacted their local Bendigo Bank branch and were informed they had been scammed.


Bendigo Bank acted swiftly to alert HSBC, which restricted the scam account, but it was too late by then. Less than $3,000 of their $30,000 could be recovered.

When Mary contacted HSBC to track down the remainder of their funds, she was met with a response that left them both stunned.

HSBC refused to take further action, citing customer privacy concerns.

‘They refused to do anything as they could not "invade their customer’s privacy,"' she said.’ she stated.

The couple's plight has since gained media attention, and following this, they were promised total compensation for their loss.


However, the ordeal has highlighted a significant issue within the banking industry's response to fraud, especially when protecting the elderly and vulnerable.

‘Why couldn’t our bank reverse the transaction? Or put a time delay on unusual payments?’ she asked.

An HSBC spokeswoman has stated that protecting customers from criminals is critical and that the bank and the industry are doing everything possible to combat scammers.

‘While there is always more work to be done when combating scammers, HSBC, together with the industry, has been doing everything it can to protect customers,’ she explained.

Mr Quantock and Ms Kenneally are a well-known couple in Australian comedy.

They collaborated on the 80's sketch comedy series Australia You're Standing In It.


In related news, a group of HSBC Australia customers lost $1.25 million to a bank impersonation scam.

The scammers used spoofing to send texts or make calls that appeared to come from HSBC, requesting personal details and bank codes. Read more about it here.
Key Takeaways

  • Rod Quantock and Mary Kenneally, two Australian comedy legends, lost $30,000 to scammers and were left stunned when HSBC refused to help recover their money, citing privacy reasons.
  • Mr Quantock was tricked into transferring the money after receiving a call from a fraudster posing as a representative from his genuine bank, Bendigo Bank.
  • Although HSBC later restricted the scam account, less than $3,000 of the stolen $30,000 was retrieved.
  • Following media attention, the couple claimed they were promised full compensation for their loss by HSBC.
Have you or someone you know been affected by a similar scam? Share your experiences and tips in the comments below.
 
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I don't.Which is why I neither pay bills sent though the internet and am most reluctant to use the internet to buy anything. The only security is to not use the internet or plastic cards.
I’m not sure it’s even that simple Rob.
I just had to cancel the credit card last week. $750 was spent on it overnight. That certainly wasn’t me at 4:10 am.
I rang the bank immediately as I got a security warning because they tried again at 5 am which the bank picked up on. It’ll take two weeks but I’ll probably get my money back. if you have credit cards or online banking, you don’t have to be using them online for them to get hacked.
I did have a flatmate go rogue on me and transferred money from my Work account to himself so big shout out to Suncorp Bank who were able to see how many attempts made at my passcodes to get into the account so they knew he did not know the password and they reversed the transactions immediately. They couldn’t have been more helpful.
 
This has FAKE written all over it. Just received by email a short time ago:

View attachment 54635
Pretty obvious: look at the English - “Ignorance will lead to account closure…”. Clicking on the sender’s address at the top of the message will confirm it’s not from “Support Team!” And why would ‘Support Team” have an exclamation mark after it…?
 
About 15 years ago, I had a bizarre transaction pop up on my St George Bank credit card for a weird amount in US dollars. Something like $98.47. About AU$120 at the time. It was for some US porn subscription!

Rectified within 24 hours by St George Bank with a full refund.

I haven't had a credit card for over eight years now.
 
I’m not sure it’s even that simple Rob.
I just had to cancel the credit card last week. $750 was spent on it overnight. That certainly wasn’t me at 4:10 am.
I rang the bank immediately as I got a security warning because they tried again at 5 am which the bank picked up on. It’ll take two weeks but I’ll probably get my money back. if you have credit cards or online banking, you don’t have to be using them online for them to get hacked.
I did have a flatmate go rogue on me and transferred money from my Work account to himself so big shout out to Suncorp Bank who were able to see how many attempts made at my passcodes to get into the account so they knew he did not know the password and they reversed the transactions immediately. They couldn’t have been more helpful.
I got billed by a 13Cabs taxi driver for $200 for a journey to a place I had never heard of during a Christmas period when I was somewhere else. I had used a 13Cabs taxi to travel to an airport and had paid by debit card on arrival at the airport. 13Cabs have been contacted but have done sweet FA in return.

The answer is simple; pay by cash.
 
I also received a message regarding IInet. It stated that they were giving me as a long time member a special gift e.g iphone and some other expensive items. I guessed it was a scam
I’ve received lots of iiNet fake emails but none quite as obviously fake as this one. I’ve also been a longtime member of iiNet, but never offered special gifts.
I get this all the time but as i don't pay this bill I just delete it
My iiNet account is paid each time by Direct Deposit and has been for many years. If there’s ever any query, I will call their office with their authentic phone number.
 
A couple of days ago I was telephoned on my land line by some American female alleging I had to do this and that for my bank to honour two payments to ebay for $300 and $1000 . Which was clearly a nonsense. Trust no-one. If ebay wants me to pay it, it can send me a bill through Australia Post which I might be able to check. I suppose scammers can read telephone books where names addresses and telephone numbers are published, or maybe ebay has a serious security problem with our details . AAT revealed such details of 109 million Americans in 2020 and the known mass-data breaches in Australia are alarming. e.g. Optus etc.

We all leave bank account and credit/debit card details lying around in someone's data-base via direct debit payments/payments by plastic cards etc etc etc. It is why I insist on paper bills through Australia Post and my payment of such by cheque, which can be stopped within 3 to 7 working days if needed.
 
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About 15 years ago, I had a bizarre transaction pop up on my St George Bank credit card for a weird amount in US dollars. Something like $98.47. About AU$120 at the time. It was for some US porn subscription!

Rectified within 24 hours by St George Bank with a full refund.

I haven't had a credit card for over eight years now.

Me too moment..
Bout same length of time ago, a pending transaction of $9800 (kid you not)
appeared on my CCard. Turned out to be a charge from a candy store in Houston Texas. Needless to say the amount was never charged to me. Bloody lot of M&M's. :ROFLMAO:

That was then when I placed a stop on all international payments on CCard.
These days, if needed, I take the stop off for one hour to allow any of my authorised transactions to go through and then put the hold back on. Don't see it as an inconvenience at all, merely a have to do these days.
 
Very hard to pick this sort of scam I reckon. Where you go looking for a service and not the other way around. I too would be cross at myself if it happened to me, however the website looked genuine to the experts so I'm not sure what you could do here given all you wanted was just a birth certificate. Simple enough one would think.

Yeah, maybe the cost was unsettling, but everything costs a lot more these days. It's easy after the event to think I should have known better, but, this was a tough one to pick. Thanks for sharing and I'm sorry for your loss Ebby and hope you get the money back as indicated.
Thankyou so much for your kind words l appreciate that
 
I’m not sure it’s even that simple Rob.
I just had to cancel the credit card last week. $750 was spent on it overnight. That certainly wasn’t me at 4:10 am.
I rang the bank immediately as I got a security warning because they tried again at 5 am which the bank picked up on. It’ll take two weeks but I’ll probably get my money back. if you have credit cards or online banking, you don’t have to be using them online for them to get hacked.
I did have a flatmate go rogue on me and transferred money from my Work account to himself so big shout out to Suncorp Bank who were able to see how many attempts made at my passcodes to get into the account so they knew he did not know the password and they reversed the transactions immediately. They couldn’t have been more helpful.
Every now and again my mind goes wandering and I mess up my pin but thee bank lock me out and would do to a scammer. Hope so anyway.
 

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