She thought she had outsmarted them: How a Centrelink mum's scam turned into a catastrophe
- Replies 4
Buy now, pay later schemes have seen a surge in popularity, allowing time-strapped consumers to split purchases into interest-free instalments.
But a Sydney-based mum attempted to outsmart the system but ended up crumbling her own world.
Carly Davidson, 36, conducted an elaborate scam that lasted almost two years, from June 2019 to February 2021.
Davidson stole vital identification information, including names, dates of birth, residential addresses, and driver's licences, from 58 unsuspecting Aussies.
This data was misused by taking out lines of credit in her victims’ names with popular 'buy now, pay later' providers, including Afterpay, Zip Pay, LatitudePay, Openpay, and Humm.
Davidson embarked on a shopping spree, acquiring an array of items, from injectable cosmetics, IKEA furniture, jewellery, massage devices, a 55-inch television, Menulog deliveries, shoes, Airbnb stays, rideshare services, shoes, and pet food totalling $19,376.
Davidson used over 100 fake phone numbers to receive verification texts and emails.
When police raided her residence in February 2021 in Malabar, they discovered a collection of stolen goods and a toolbox filled with 96 SIM cards, along with two pieces of paper filled with victims' credit cards and personal information.
The information of her victims found on the toolbox also had her fingerprints on the lid. However, it remains unclear how Davidson got a hold of her victims’ driver’s licences and bank card details.
They also found 14 gift cards, a Samsung phone, a Sony TV, a Sony speaker, a Sony Cybershot camera, a lounge set, Dulux paint, pairs of shoes, perfumes, sheet sets, and a Michael Kors watch.
Bauhn headphones, two Apple iPhones, two sets of Apple Airpods, two Oppo phones, a Swann security camera, and Turbosound speakers were some of the electronic devices seized in her home.
Two resealable bags of 2.28g of methamphetamine, a gold chain, and six mobile phones were found inside a safe in her main bedroom.
The recovered phones had several names of other victims she used to create pay-it-later accounts and fake email addresses.
In one of Davidson’s recovered phones, the police found a text exchange where she posed as one of her victims ‘Janet’ to send a pay-it-later employee details of date of birth and a confirmation code to set up her account.
The police also conducted a second search on a storage container in Rosebery. They found a tin box with nine bank cards, a Virgin Australia frequent flyer’s card, a Guzman and Gomez loyalty card, and a teaching ID card.
When asked outside a community corrections office by the media, Davidson neither commented on her offences nor issued an apology to her victims and only uttered ‘no comment’ before entering the building.
According to the police, Davidson told them she was unemployed and living on fortnightly government payments, amounting to $800. Her partner, on the other hand, is living on disability payments and is unable to contribute to their household expenses.
Davidson’s victims were clueless about their information being stolen and used for taking out credit that may affect their chances of getting approved for car or home loans.
Davidson’s top three victims garnered her credit lines of $4,094.90, $3,296.68, and $2,882.95. She set up at least one new line of credit almost monthly using her victims’ personal information, accruing to $15,240 between 3 January and 28 January 2020.
Davidson created a pay-it-later account from her most profitable victim ($4,094.90) in December 2019, when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
But in October 2020, she started to use the account and spent $1,370 on Proud’s jewellery, $734 on a Dyson vacuum, and $1,861.90 on Harvey Norman products. She continued to binge shop by using other victims’ money for January, March, April, May, and June 2020.
She spent $1,693.99 using her second victim’s money in April by undergoing an $899.99 injectable procedure, $126.89 on Menulog, $612.30 on Airbnb, and $54.81 on Ola cab.
She also enlisted workers on Airtasker by delivering large items like electronics and furniture to her unit under the name ‘Lisa K’, who was also one of her victims.
In May 2020, she used Humm credit using her fourth victim’s information and bought a two-seater lounge and a queen-sized bed from IKEA. She also paid an Airtasker $154 plus a $20 tip to have them delivered using the financial information of her fifth victim, who was a NSW police officer.
The NSW police officer’s details were also used to buy a $78 pizza order, $157 worth of Afterpay credit for Athletes Foot, and $164.60 of dog food.
Police later uncovered that Davidson was caught on CCTV footage carrying two 3-kilogram bags of Royal Canin Anallegernic dog food.
Between January and February, Davidson stole six more victim’s information to set up lines of credit.
In January 2021, Davidson robbed another victim’s information and spent $3,296.68 after creating a fake email address and Zip Pay account under her name.
Within four days, she racked up a hefty bill with purchases from Coles ($638 and $98.79), Bunnings Warehouse ($547.30), Prouds ($500), Deliveroo ($7.78 and $75), Michael Hill ($1,399), and a taxi fare ($30.81).
Court documents also showed that Davidson registered five new phone numbers under different people’s names.
he admitted that she went to Matraville vet and that her meth was hers. But she also said that all the furniture in her apartment was hers.
Davidson was initially slapped with about 300 offences, spending six months in jail before being granted bail in September 2021.
Some of the charges were dismissed or withdrawn due to the progress of her legal case over the past two years.
However, in November 2022, she pleaded guilty to 70 charges, including several counts of fraud, attempted fraud, possessing stolen goods, and drug possession.
It is understood that these charges will be reduced by the time she is sentenced as part of plea negotiations.
She attended the hearing at Sydney Downing Centre Court with her lawyer Bryan Wench on Monday. Mr Wench represented celebrities, including actor John Jarratt, singer Shannon Noll, and former NRL star Sam Burgess.
Mr Wench requested for the sentencing hearing to be adjourned for six weeks so that Davidson’s legal team could obtain a sentencing assessment report.
Magistrate Michael Barko allowed the request but warned Davidson that she must continue to comply with bail conditions—requiring her to report to authorities regularly.
‘If you don’t report again, I will throw you in jail,’ he warned.
A maximum penalty of two years shall be imposed by the Local Court for one count of dishonesty obtained through financial advantage by deception.
Davidson's sentencing has been scheduled for January 2024.
According to a LatitudePay spokesperson, they said that the company ‘waived the debt of confirmed victims of the fraud and taken steps to ensure that the fraud has not impacted their credit score’.
LatitudePay does not offer buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) services anymore since February this year.
A spokesperson for McGrathNichol—a company that took over Openpay when it was liquidated this February—said that receivers could not comment on incidents before they become involved with Openpay.
Members, if you or someone else has their information stolen, report it to Scamwatch here, or call immediately at 000. Always stay safe!
Members, has someone tried to steal your personal information? what do you do to prevent your personal information from being stolen by scammers? Let us know in the comments below!
But a Sydney-based mum attempted to outsmart the system but ended up crumbling her own world.
Carly Davidson, 36, conducted an elaborate scam that lasted almost two years, from June 2019 to February 2021.
Davidson stole vital identification information, including names, dates of birth, residential addresses, and driver's licences, from 58 unsuspecting Aussies.
This data was misused by taking out lines of credit in her victims’ names with popular 'buy now, pay later' providers, including Afterpay, Zip Pay, LatitudePay, Openpay, and Humm.
Carly Davidson opened buy-now, pay-later accounts under different names. Merged photo credit: Seniors Discount Club
Davidson embarked on a shopping spree, acquiring an array of items, from injectable cosmetics, IKEA furniture, jewellery, massage devices, a 55-inch television, Menulog deliveries, shoes, Airbnb stays, rideshare services, shoes, and pet food totalling $19,376.
Davidson used over 100 fake phone numbers to receive verification texts and emails.
When police raided her residence in February 2021 in Malabar, they discovered a collection of stolen goods and a toolbox filled with 96 SIM cards, along with two pieces of paper filled with victims' credit cards and personal information.
The information of her victims found on the toolbox also had her fingerprints on the lid. However, it remains unclear how Davidson got a hold of her victims’ driver’s licences and bank card details.
They also found 14 gift cards, a Samsung phone, a Sony TV, a Sony speaker, a Sony Cybershot camera, a lounge set, Dulux paint, pairs of shoes, perfumes, sheet sets, and a Michael Kors watch.
Bauhn headphones, two Apple iPhones, two sets of Apple Airpods, two Oppo phones, a Swann security camera, and Turbosound speakers were some of the electronic devices seized in her home.
Two resealable bags of 2.28g of methamphetamine, a gold chain, and six mobile phones were found inside a safe in her main bedroom.
The recovered phones had several names of other victims she used to create pay-it-later accounts and fake email addresses.
In one of Davidson’s recovered phones, the police found a text exchange where she posed as one of her victims ‘Janet’ to send a pay-it-later employee details of date of birth and a confirmation code to set up her account.
The police also conducted a second search on a storage container in Rosebery. They found a tin box with nine bank cards, a Virgin Australia frequent flyer’s card, a Guzman and Gomez loyalty card, and a teaching ID card.
When asked outside a community corrections office by the media, Davidson neither commented on her offences nor issued an apology to her victims and only uttered ‘no comment’ before entering the building.
According to the police, Davidson told them she was unemployed and living on fortnightly government payments, amounting to $800. Her partner, on the other hand, is living on disability payments and is unable to contribute to their household expenses.
Carly Davidson used several personal information to buy products and services under different names. Credit: Facebook
Davidson’s victims were clueless about their information being stolen and used for taking out credit that may affect their chances of getting approved for car or home loans.
Davidson’s top three victims garnered her credit lines of $4,094.90, $3,296.68, and $2,882.95. She set up at least one new line of credit almost monthly using her victims’ personal information, accruing to $15,240 between 3 January and 28 January 2020.
Davidson created a pay-it-later account from her most profitable victim ($4,094.90) in December 2019, when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
But in October 2020, she started to use the account and spent $1,370 on Proud’s jewellery, $734 on a Dyson vacuum, and $1,861.90 on Harvey Norman products. She continued to binge shop by using other victims’ money for January, March, April, May, and June 2020.
She spent $1,693.99 using her second victim’s money in April by undergoing an $899.99 injectable procedure, $126.89 on Menulog, $612.30 on Airbnb, and $54.81 on Ola cab.
She also enlisted workers on Airtasker by delivering large items like electronics and furniture to her unit under the name ‘Lisa K’, who was also one of her victims.
In May 2020, she used Humm credit using her fourth victim’s information and bought a two-seater lounge and a queen-sized bed from IKEA. She also paid an Airtasker $154 plus a $20 tip to have them delivered using the financial information of her fifth victim, who was a NSW police officer.
The NSW police officer’s details were also used to buy a $78 pizza order, $157 worth of Afterpay credit for Athletes Foot, and $164.60 of dog food.
Police later uncovered that Davidson was caught on CCTV footage carrying two 3-kilogram bags of Royal Canin Anallegernic dog food.
Between January and February, Davidson stole six more victim’s information to set up lines of credit.
In January 2021, Davidson robbed another victim’s information and spent $3,296.68 after creating a fake email address and Zip Pay account under her name.
Within four days, she racked up a hefty bill with purchases from Coles ($638 and $98.79), Bunnings Warehouse ($547.30), Prouds ($500), Deliveroo ($7.78 and $75), Michael Hill ($1,399), and a taxi fare ($30.81).
Court documents also showed that Davidson registered five new phone numbers under different people’s names.
he admitted that she went to Matraville vet and that her meth was hers. But she also said that all the furniture in her apartment was hers.
Davidson was initially slapped with about 300 offences, spending six months in jail before being granted bail in September 2021.
Some of the charges were dismissed or withdrawn due to the progress of her legal case over the past two years.
However, in November 2022, she pleaded guilty to 70 charges, including several counts of fraud, attempted fraud, possessing stolen goods, and drug possession.
It is understood that these charges will be reduced by the time she is sentenced as part of plea negotiations.
She attended the hearing at Sydney Downing Centre Court with her lawyer Bryan Wench on Monday. Mr Wench represented celebrities, including actor John Jarratt, singer Shannon Noll, and former NRL star Sam Burgess.
Mr Wench requested for the sentencing hearing to be adjourned for six weeks so that Davidson’s legal team could obtain a sentencing assessment report.
Magistrate Michael Barko allowed the request but warned Davidson that she must continue to comply with bail conditions—requiring her to report to authorities regularly.
‘If you don’t report again, I will throw you in jail,’ he warned.
A maximum penalty of two years shall be imposed by the Local Court for one count of dishonesty obtained through financial advantage by deception.
Davidson's sentencing has been scheduled for January 2024.
According to a LatitudePay spokesperson, they said that the company ‘waived the debt of confirmed victims of the fraud and taken steps to ensure that the fraud has not impacted their credit score’.
LatitudePay does not offer buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) services anymore since February this year.
A spokesperson for McGrathNichol—a company that took over Openpay when it was liquidated this February—said that receivers could not comment on incidents before they become involved with Openpay.
Members, if you or someone else has their information stolen, report it to Scamwatch here, or call immediately at 000. Always stay safe!
Members, has someone tried to steal your personal information? what do you do to prevent your personal information from being stolen by scammers? Let us know in the comments below!
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