Thuy Lee is like many hardworking Aussies—she juggles running a small business with caring for her family.

But the 44-year-old's life was turned upside down when scammers drained nearly $42,000 from her Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) account in just minutes.

Thuy runs Sparkle Nail and Beauty in Wollongong seven days a week while being a devoted wife and mother to her husband Trung, who has Parkinson's Disease, and their two daughters.

She was working at her salon as usual when the criminals struck, transferring large sums of money from her business account before she had a chance to notice.

A mum was scammed $42,000 out of her Commonwealth Bank business account. Image source: Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The largest single transaction was an alarming $25,000, which failed to set off the Commonwealth Bank’s fraud squad.

'Please look at me, I'm a hardworking woman, I'm a real person, I'm not a number for you to play with,' Lee said.

Thuy said she notified Commonwealth Bank within 24 hours of the scam.

The bank had offered to return $2,000 initially and another $4,000 when a second investigation showed that the bank was slow to act on the issue.

Thuy claimed that the bank, whom she’s been with for 14 years, treated her with suspicion, implying that someone must have obtained her password.

She declined the bank’s offer of another $6000 after filing a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

'It’s the principle,' she said.

The bank reportedly refused to reveal the identity of the scammers during a hearing with the AFCA despite knowledge of the IP addresses of those who took Thuy’s money.

The matter has now been brought to the attention of the NSW police and is now with the Ombudsman.

'Think about that money, how many nails I have to do in a day, how many hours I have to work for a day,' Thuy said.

'You (Commonwealth Bank) can do better than the way you treat me.'

'I'm a victim, I have no control over what happened to me, but the bank, they have control.'

A spokesperson from CBA has said: 'When scams are reported to CBA by our customers, our priority is to provide support and minimise the impact of the scam on them.'

'CBA then investigates the circumstances of the scam to understand how it has taken place and affected the customer.'

The bank admitted that they declined to reimburse the customer, citing their investigation on the circumstances surrounding Thuy’s loss of money. They also acknowledged that she did not agree with their call and filed a complaint with the AFCA over the matter.

'AFCA [have] yet to make a decision on this complaint, and CBA is fully cooperating with the AFCA process,' the spokesperson added.

The bank also acknowledged the impact of fraud and scams on customers and the public in general.

'CBA encourages all customers to remain vigilant and monitor their accounts for unusual transactions,' the spokesperson advised.

'We are also implementing new scam detection, prevention and education initiatives to help keep more customers safe, including our NameCheck tool.'

The bank also encouraged customers to find out more about scams on their website: https://www.commbank.com.au/support/security/how-to-spot-hoax-scam.html.

Key Takeaways

• Thuy Lee lost nearly $42,000 from her business account to scammers and has accused Commonwealth Bank of being unhelpful.
• Despite having been with the bank for 14 years, Thuy stated she was treated with suspicion and that the bank implied someone must have accessed her password.
• Although the bank offered to partially return the sum, Thuy refused, stating, 'It's the principle'. She has complained to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
• The Commonwealth Bank did not reveal the identity of the scammers and maintained they are working to support customers and minimise the impacts of scams, providing scam detection, prevention, and education initiatives.

Members, have you ever experienced something similar? Share your experience with us in the comments below.

 

[Petra]

Sad, very Sad

 

[Benny's Light]

Felt so sorry for Thuy. My heart goes out to her as it could happen to any of us. The little person trying to work hard to survive and to provide the best for her family against big profitable corporations who have no sole and care more for profits than their customers. I hope that Thuy is able to get all of her money back.

 

[LeslieD]

Thuy Lee is like many hardworking Aussies—she juggles running a small business with caring for her family.

But the 44-year-old's life was turned upside down when scammers drained nearly $42,000 from her Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) account in just minutes.

Thuy runs Sparkle Nail and Beauty in Wollongong seven days a week while being a devoted wife and mother to her husband Trung, who has Parkinson's Disease, and their two daughters.

She was working at her salon as usual when the criminals struck, transferring large sums of money from her business account before she had a chance to notice.

View attachment 31906

A mum was scammed $42,000 out of her Commonwealth Bank business account. Image source: Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The largest single transaction was an alarming $25,000, which failed to set off the Commonwealth Bank’s fraud squad.

'Please look at me, I'm a hardworking woman, I'm a real person, I'm not a number for you to play with,' Lee said.

Thuy said she notified Commonwealth Bank within 24 hours of the scam.

The bank had offered to return $2,000 initially and another $4,000 when a second investigation showed that the bank was slow to act on the issue.

Thuy claimed that the bank, whom she’s been with for 14 years, treated her with suspicion, implying that someone must have obtained her password.

She declined the bank’s offer of another $6000 after filing a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

'It’s the principle,' she said.

The bank reportedly refused to reveal the identity of the scammers during a hearing with the AFCA despite knowledge of the IP addresses of those who took Thuy’s money.

The matter has now been brought to the attention of the NSW police and is now with the Ombudsman.

'Think about that money, how many nails I have to do in a day, how many hours I have to work for a day,' Thuy said.

'You (Commonwealth Bank) can do better than the way you treat me.'

'I'm a victim, I have no control over what happened to me, but the bank, they have control.'

A spokesperson from CBA has said: 'When scams are reported to CBA by our customers, our priority is to provide support and minimise the impact of the scam on them.'

'CBA then investigates the circumstances of the scam to understand how it has taken place and affected the customer.'

The bank admitted that they declined to reimburse the customer, citing their investigation on the circumstances surrounding Thuy’s loss of money. They also acknowledged that she did not agree with their call and filed a complaint with the AFCA over the matter.

'AFCA [have] yet to make a decision on this complaint, and CBA is fully cooperating with the AFCA process,' the spokesperson added.

The bank also acknowledged the impact of fraud and scams on customers and the public in general.

'CBA encourages all customers to remain vigilant and monitor their accounts for unusual transactions,' the spokesperson advised.

'We are also implementing new scam detection, prevention and education initiatives to help keep more customers safe, including our NameCheck tool.'

The bank also encouraged customers to find out more about scams on their website: https://www.commbank.com.au/support/security/how-to-spot-hoax-scam.html.

Key Takeaways

• Thuy Lee lost nearly $42,000 from her business account to scammers and has accused Commonwealth Bank of being unhelpful.
• Despite having been with the bank for 14 years, Thuy stated she was treated with suspicion and that the bank implied someone must have accessed her password.
• Although the bank offered to partially return the sum, Thuy refused, stating, 'It's the principle'. She has complained to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
• The Commonwealth Bank did not reveal the identity of the scammers and maintained they are working to support customers and minimise the impacts of scams, providing scam detection, prevention, and education initiatives.

Members, have you ever experienced something similar? Share your experience with us in the comments below.

I will never bank with the commonwealth bank. I’ve had 2 run in with that bank. In 1991 we had a business account and a personal cheque account which we only had a few dollars in and would top up when I needed to pay a bill. We were in Singapore for 6 months, on return twice I went to the bank and deposited money, which they took only to find out that they had closed the account and the cheques bounced. Then as many businesses in the 90’s went bankrupt. We decided to sell our house before the bank did, on settlement we still owed money from our business and credit cards that were to be paid. Only once again to find out they didn’t pay our credit card and we were put on bad credit list. We withdrew our accounts and will never use them again.

 

[BillW41]

Banks must be compelled by statute to properly detect frauds on customers' accounts and act promptly to effect refunds for illegal transfers which their security systems have failed to detect.

 

[mylittletibbies]

There is no explanation as to how this happened, so it's a bit hard to comment
How did the scammers gave access to her account

 

[Tipsy]

Thuy Lee is like many hardworking Aussies—she juggles running a small business with caring for her family.

But the 44-year-old's life was turned upside down when scammers drained nearly $42,000 from her Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) account in just minutes.

Thuy runs Sparkle Nail and Beauty in Wollongong seven days a week while being a devoted wife and mother to her husband Trung, who has Parkinson's Disease, and their two daughters.

She was working at her salon as usual when the criminals struck, transferring large sums of money from her business account before she had a chance to notice.

View attachment 31906

A mum was scammed $42,000 out of her Commonwealth Bank business account. Image source: Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The largest single transaction was an alarming $25,000, which failed to set off the Commonwealth Bank’s fraud squad.

'Please look at me, I'm a hardworking woman, I'm a real person, I'm not a number for you to play with,' Lee said.

Thuy said she notified Commonwealth Bank within 24 hours of the scam.

The bank had offered to return $2,000 initially and another $4,000 when a second investigation showed that the bank was slow to act on the issue.

Thuy claimed that the bank, whom she’s been with for 14 years, treated her with suspicion, implying that someone must have obtained her password.

She declined the bank’s offer of another $6000 after filing a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

'It’s the principle,' she said.

The bank reportedly refused to reveal the identity of the scammers during a hearing with the AFCA despite knowledge of the IP addresses of those who took Thuy’s money.

The matter has now been brought to the attention of the NSW police and is now with the Ombudsman.

'Think about that money, how many nails I have to do in a day, how many hours I have to work for a day,' Thuy said.

'You (Commonwealth Bank) can do better than the way you treat me.'

'I'm a victim, I have no control over what happened to me, but the bank, they have control.'

A spokesperson from CBA has said: 'When scams are reported to CBA by our customers, our priority is to provide support and minimise the impact of the scam on them.'

'CBA then investigates the circumstances of the scam to understand how it has taken place and affected the customer.'

The bank admitted that they declined to reimburse the customer, citing their investigation on the circumstances surrounding Thuy’s loss of money. They also acknowledged that she did not agree with their call and filed a complaint with the AFCA over the matter.

'AFCA [have] yet to make a decision on this complaint, and CBA is fully cooperating with the AFCA process,' the spokesperson added.

The bank also acknowledged the impact of fraud and scams on customers and the public in general.

'CBA encourages all customers to remain vigilant and monitor their accounts for unusual transactions,' the spokesperson advised.

'We are also implementing new scam detection, prevention and education initiatives to help keep more customers safe, including our NameCheck tool.'

The bank also encouraged customers to find out more about scams on their website: https://www.commbank.com.au/support/security/how-to-spot-hoax-scam.html.

Key Takeaways

• Thuy Lee lost nearly $42,000 from her business account to scammers and has accused Commonwealth Bank of being unhelpful.
• Despite having been with the bank for 14 years, Thuy stated she was treated with suspicion and that the bank implied someone must have accessed her password.
• Although the bank offered to partially return the sum, Thuy refused, stating, 'It's the principle'. She has complained to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
• The Commonwealth Bank did not reveal the identity of the scammers and maintained they are working to support customers and minimise the impacts of scams, providing scam detection, prevention, and education initiatives.

Members, have you ever experienced something similar? Share your experience with us in the comments below.

dont expect anything else from the worst of the worst of the big banks, just another criminal money laundering institution

 

[magpie1]

ALL of your Money in their care.......but NO RESPONSIBILITY. Damn the Banks and their attitude towards their customers in times like this.

 

[Squizzy1]

Thuy Lee is like many hardworking Aussies—she juggles running a small business with caring for her family.

But the 44-year-old's life was turned upside down when scammers drained nearly $42,000 from her Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) account in just minutes.

Thuy runs Sparkle Nail and Beauty in Wollongong seven days a week while being a devoted wife and mother to her husband Trung, who has Parkinson's Disease, and their two daughters.

She was working at her salon as usual when the criminals struck, transferring large sums of money from her business account before she had a chance to notice.

View attachment 31906

A mum was scammed $42,000 out of her Commonwealth Bank business account. Image source: Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The largest single transaction was an alarming $25,000, which failed to set off the Commonwealth Bank’s fraud squad.

'Please look at me, I'm a hardworking woman, I'm a real person, I'm not a number for you to play with,' Lee said.

Thuy said she notified Commonwealth Bank within 24 hours of the scam.

The bank had offered to return $2,000 initially and another $4,000 when a second investigation showed that the bank was slow to act on the issue.

Thuy claimed that the bank, whom she’s been with for 14 years, treated her with suspicion, implying that someone must have obtained her password.

She declined the bank’s offer of another $6000 after filing a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

'It’s the principle,' she said.

The bank reportedly refused to reveal the identity of the scammers during a hearing with the AFCA despite knowledge of the IP addresses of those who took Thuy’s money.

The matter has now been brought to the attention of the NSW police and is now with the Ombudsman.

'Think about that money, how many nails I have to do in a day, how many hours I have to work for a day,' Thuy said.

'You (Commonwealth Bank) can do better than the way you treat me.'

'I'm a victim, I have no control over what happened to me, but the bank, they have control.'

A spokesperson from CBA has said: 'When scams are reported to CBA by our customers, our priority is to provide support and minimise the impact of the scam on them.'

'CBA then investigates the circumstances of the scam to understand how it has taken place and affected the customer.'

The bank admitted that they declined to reimburse the customer, citing their investigation on the circumstances surrounding Thuy’s loss of money. They also acknowledged that she did not agree with their call and filed a complaint with the AFCA over the matter.

'AFCA [have] yet to make a decision on this complaint, and CBA is fully cooperating with the AFCA process,' the spokesperson added.

The bank also acknowledged the impact of fraud and scams on customers and the public in general.

'CBA encourages all customers to remain vigilant and monitor their accounts for unusual transactions,' the spokesperson advised.

'We are also implementing new scam detection, prevention and education initiatives to help keep more customers safe, including our NameCheck tool.'

The bank also encouraged customers to find out more about scams on their website: https://www.commbank.com.au/support/security/how-to-spot-hoax-scam.html.

Key Takeaways

• Thuy Lee lost nearly $42,000 from her business account to scammers and has accused Commonwealth Bank of being unhelpful.
• Despite having been with the bank for 14 years, Thuy stated she was treated with suspicion and that the bank implied someone must have accessed her password.
• Although the bank offered to partially return the sum, Thuy refused, stating, 'It's the principle'. She has complained to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
• The Commonwealth Bank did not reveal the identity of the scammers and maintained they are working to support customers and minimise the impacts of scams, providing scam detection, prevention, and education initiatives.

Members, have you ever experienced something similar? Share your experience with us in the comments below.

Pity the Commonwealth do not practice what it's sister bank in the UK do, our Commonwealth Govt. has been very slow to react to what is now common place in the UK Banking World. I bet there's a law that says if the Bank makes an error to your benefit, it can be overturned. Oddly if I go to the Bank and want $25k they are obliged to interrogate me, but online, sight unseen, which they encourage you to use, do nothing?

 

[IAN3005]

I am surprised that the Commonwealth Bank was not on top of this. I received a call from bank security at 11:30pm advising me the transactions were being made on my account.

 

[gordon1940]

There is no explanation as to how this happened, so it's a bit hard to comment
How did the scammers gave access to her account

IF it is proven that the I/D or Password was used there is no reason to refund.

 

[Macarj]

I am surprised that the Commonwealth Bank was not on top of this. I received a call from bank security at 11:30pm advising me the transactions were being made on my account.

Me too

 

[IAN3005]

Me too

 

[IAN3005]

I smell a rat!!!!