Australian (ASX) Stock Market Forum

Scams, whose fault?

Jump to new

'You've destroyed me': A 'pig butchering' scam drained a 26-year-old Australian of $46,000

Anne and a man she had met online messaged every day for weeks. Their chat history shows how scammers emotionally and psychologically manipulated her — and stole $46,000.
www.abc.net.au

Anne* was looking for a genuine romantic connection when she stumbled across Lucio's profile on the dating platform Tinder.

After days of exchanging hundreds of messages back and forth about their interests and hobbies, the first mention of cryptocurrency came into the picture.

A mistake the 26-year-old Melbourne woman says was of her own doing, but she didn't know it at the time.

Within a week, Lucio convinced her to start trading cryptocurrency as he was aware it was an area she showed interest in.

One month later, she'd been scammed out of $46,100.

Now, Anne believes Lucio was a persona created by a criminal syndicate and his messages were straight out of a script expertly designed to manipulate.

This is the anatomy of a scam known as "pig butchering" that is being used to prey on vulnerable Australians.
 
Unbelievable. This woman lied to ANZ when questioned about the transfers she was making and the reason for wanting a loan. But ANZ should cover her scammed losses because they didn't protect her.

No sympathy.
 
Its a societal problem.
people refuse to be responsible for their own actions.
You cannot legislate against stupidity.
And it seems that males in the 65 and over bracket are more likely to fall for scams.
Mick
1733294333424.png
 
Com bank sent me a message asking for me to check a credit card transaction... payment to Lagos, Nigeria.

Had a look had another two all pending, filed dispute, card cancelled total refunded ($19 fee for each refund) no idea how they got my details.
 
IFocus said:
Com bank sent me a message asking for me to check a credit card transaction... payment to Lagos, Nigeria.

Had a look had another two all pending, filed dispute, card cancelled total refunded ($19 fee for each refund) no idea how they got my details.
Click to expand...
@IFocus What the......
 
Dona Ferentes said:
that's the bit I don't understand
Click to expand...

Makes two of us but $19 for each transaction refund note the bank never actually parted with the money as payment was held as pending my response.

Just the Com bank fees stuff remember the US banks coming to Australia to see how the banks here were so profitable, If I remember correctly most fees were illegal in the US.

Went though all my transactions over the previous days and for the life of me cannot see how they got my details, wondering if my card got skimmed some how?
 
IFocus said:
Makes two of us but $19 for each transaction refund note the bank never actually parted with the money as payment was held as pending my response.

Just the Com bank fees stuff remember the US banks coming to Australia to see how the banks here were so profitable, If I remember correctly most fees were illegal in the US.

Went though all my transactions over the previous days and for the life of me cannot see how they got my details, wondering if my card got skimmed some how?
Click to expand...
@IFocus Only logical to think that your card was skimmed.
When i was injured 4.5 years ago, I was waiting at the pharmacy at Midland Hospital and had mine skimmed there.
Fortunately, the Bank was quick off the mark and we lost nothing, also no fees or such like.
At that stage our bank was not one of the big Four.
 
IFocus said:
Makes two of us but $19 for each transaction refund note the bank never actually parted with the money as payment was held as pending my response.

Just the Com bank fees stuff remember the US banks coming to Australia to see how the banks here were so profitable, If I remember correctly most fees were illegal in the US.

Went though all my transactions over the previous days and for the life of me cannot see how they got my details, wondering if my card got skimmed some how?
Click to expand...

I had a transaction on a debit card which wasn't made by me. I had only used the card once for an on-line purchase (Amazon around three months before the unauthorised transaction). I blocked the card and when I had a chat to the fraud area of the bank, I was told it could be from any source; compromised EFTPOS terminal, Amazon hack (despite me removing the payment method, Amazon still retains the information. And they never announce those hacks nor does Google Store). It's simply a fact of digital life now, sadly.

The suggestion I was provided by the bank was to monitor accounts on a regular basis. I have bank apps on my phone to do that although I don't use the apps to do banking, transfer or any other transactions. Most of my bills are via direct debit anyway and I only have need for debit cards for general stuff like groceries. And I generally limit the level of funds on the cards at any one time.

Banks are getting twitchy and on the odd occasion I have received a text advising a transaction had been made and to respond with either 1 it was me or 2 it wasn't me. I phoned using the number on the reverse of the debit card rather than text back and the transaction was authorised. And as I have posted previously, I have had an account blocked when I made a valid transaction but the systems considered it suspicious.

Despite views to the contrary, financial institutions do spend a lot of resources on attempting to preventing scams and the like. However, nothing is perfect and never will be. As consumers we need to up our game to protect ourselves but that takes continual effort. Some will but a lot wont and then try to shift the blame to the banks. It's been that way in the past and I don't see that changing any time soon if ever.
 
Just remembered it's December. Holiday season and lots of on-line buying. Expect an increase in texts or emails asking to confirm your shipping details, postage wasn't sufficient or cannot confirm your address.

Best way I think to protect yourself is to assume all contacts, even if they look legit, are attempts at scamming you. I've had five such emails this morning. And three texts. They are part of our life now.
 
Bellcose said:
Just remembered it's December. Holiday season and lots of on-line buying. Expect an increase in texts or emails asking to confirm your shipping details, postage wasn't sufficient or cannot confirm your address.

Best way I think to protect yourself is to assume all contacts, even if they look legit, are attempts at scamming you. I've had five such emails this morning. And three texts. They are part of our life now.
Click to expand...
Yep, just deleted 3 more myself :mad:

Never used to get them when we did business face to face, no card scams either when we paid in cash.

A few rubber cheques around though☹️
 
Another very clever on line employment scam. Well worth checking out if only to warn off any friends who are looking for a job and are tempted to apply.

Man loses $25k after falling for fraudulent job scheme​


James Gutierrez
By James Gutierrez
23 December 2024

0
Screenshot-2024-12-23-at-1.05.02-PM-696x421.png
An IT expert's dream retirement was shattered after he was scammed out of $25,000. Image Source: Unsplash
In a world where technology has made our lives more convenient, it has also opened the door to increasingly sophisticated scams.

For Martin Carroll, a 64-year-old IT contractor from Queensland, the promise of a simple side hustle turned into a financial nightmare, costing him $25,000 just two years before his planned retirement. His story serves as a cautionary tale for all Australians, especially those nearing retirement, who may be looking for ways to supplement their income.

Like many in the tech industry, Mr Carroll has faced challenges finding stable work in recent years, a situation exacerbated by what some are calling the ‘tech wreck’. With his savings dwindling and the holiday season approaching—a notoriously tough time for job seekers—he was eager to find a way to make ends meet.

When a seemingly legitimate job opportunity appeared on his social media feed, it felt like a lifeline.

The job seemed straightforward: fill online shopping baskets for an e-commerce store and earn $300 to $400 per week. The explanation was plausible enough.

The company claimed it was a marketing strategy to make their website appear more popular to real customers. It wasn’t a multi-level marketing scheme, nor did it require him to sell products to friends and family. It seemed like an easy, low-effort way to earn some extra cash.

But as the saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Initially sceptical, Mr Carroll hesitated. The idea of paying money upfront to make money didn’t sit well with him. However, he was added to a WhatsApp group filled with other ’employees’ who appeared to be thriving in the program. Their success stories and encouragement eventually convinced him to give it a try. In hindsight, he believes these individuals were part of the scam, designed to lure unsuspecting victims deeper into the trap.

The e-commerce company, called Ruri, appeared legitimate at first glance. It had a professional-looking website, a live chat support system, and a structured employee program. Mr Carroll was instructed to complete 30 ‘cycles’ of adding items to his shopping basket. He had to pay for these items upfront but was promised reimbursement along with a generous commission.

Man loses $25k after falling for fraudulent job scheme

In a world where technology has made our lives more convenient, it has also opened the door to increasingly sophisticated scams. For Martin Carroll, a 64-year-old IT contractor from Queensland, the promise of a simple side hustle turned into a financial nightmare, costing him $25,000 just two...
www.yourlifechoices.com.au

This is the website for Ruri.

Ruri

Sustainability and promoting a circular economy are at the heart of Ruri.Our mission is that every single item that is made with love will be proudly loved.
ruri-world.com
 
I could say you're the fool but combine loneliness and cognitive decline, people are ripe to be pig butchered. Not so many years ago I was dismissive of many who had fallen for these romance scams, and while I still have that view to some extent, I think it is more complicated than I first thought. In a case mentioned in this article, the bank being intrusive about why a customer was withdrawing funds, saved him $1m. We certainly don't like being asked why we withdraw funds but I guess the other side of the coin is it is rescuing a person from themselves.

'$400,000 gone': NSW residents fall victim to dating scam 'master manipulators'

With millions of dollars lost in NSW alone, one investigator says it's often the family of romance fraud victims who reach out for support on their behalf.
www.abc.net.au
 
How much money would a top flight AFL footballer in his prime be worth ? $1m ? More.

Jacob Weitering (Carlton) was scammed out of all his savings in 2023. He is a very intelligent guy..

Carlton’s Jacob Weitering falls victim to elaborate banking scam​

An AFL star has come forward and opened up after falling victim to an elaborate bank scam that cost him his entire life savings.


Carlton vice-captain Jacob Weitering has fallen victim to a sophisticated and elaborate bank scam that has cost him his life savings.
The 25-year-old has come forward in an attempt to try and help others from becoming potential future victims to the scam.

The defender and former number one draft pick detailed the devastating events that ultimately led to his life savings disappearing.

Across multiple days the star thought he was communicating with his bank, only for it to be revealed he was dealing with elaborate scammers.

It all started late last year when the 137-game player received a text message notifying him of suspicious activity on his account which appeared in a thread of messages from National Australia Bank.

“I remember it being a Friday. So I wanted to get onto it pretty fast as I didn’t want my accounts to be drained over the weekend,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Herald Sun.

The scammers’ elaborate plan then turned to phone calls which appeared on his phone as the NAB fraud line.
They were so convincing that Weitering fell for the trap, believing his accounts had been frozen and his money needed to be moved into a “safeguarding account”.

 
Check your credit card statements over the break, I got scammed last night.

Someone managed to get my details and make transactions across Australia. Not sure how they bypassed the code that gets sent to my phone, it worked on about the 10th transaction that alerted me of what was happening, and I was able to lock the card.
 
Thought this was interesting. A company that supports businesses to avoid being scammed.

CH_flag-80x80.jpg

Made in Switzerland​

NetGuardians is an award-winning global FinTech helping financial institutions worldwide prevent fraud and financial crime. More than 100 million individuals are protected worldwide thanks to NetGuardians’ ready-to-go solutions.

Fraud cases

Examples of frauds our AI risk models stopped before the money left the bank
netguardians.ch

About

NetGuardians is an award-winning Swiss FinTech helping financial institutions in over 30 countries to fight fraud. More than 80 banks and wealth managers, including 40 percent of all Swiss state-owned commercial banks and three of the top 10 private banks as ranked by Euromoney, rely on...
netguardians.ch
 
This is a brilliant story. Please take the time to check it out.

The headline is a 73 year old pensioner taking NAB to court and suing them for $379m (You have read the story just to follow the logic of his claim. Very cool)

The big points are the exposure of yet another very sophisticated fraud process which is sweeping the world. But overall appreciate the sheer balls of Ian Williams to take on NAB, review humongous files of legal precedents and then represent himself at the Supreme Court.

This has all the makings of great movie.

Pensioner takes NAB to Supreme Court over $1,338 in fraudulent transactions​

By Rachel Clayton
8h ago8 hours ago
3333&cropW=5000&xPos=0&yPos=0&width=862&height=575.jpg

Ian WIlliams is taking his battle against NAB to the Supreme Court. (ABC News: Rachel Clayton)

Link copied

It was a cool, grey spring morning in 2022 when Ian Williams woke up and discovered two transactions on his account he did not make.
"I was sitting on the toilet and checking through my bank account, as you do," he said.

One was for $515, the other was $823. They had been made a few days earlier at a Coles supermarket in Bundoora, about 150 kilometres from his regional Victorian home in Bendigo.

He called the bank and was told to wait while staff investigated.
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/
Two hours later, he said, a customer service representative from uBank, a subsidiary of National Australia Bank (NAB), called him back and said that, according to the bank's payment data, the transactions were made using Williams's Google Pay account.

"They said that I was guilty, I was responsible, I was personally at Coles to do the transactions with my phone and my thumbprint."

That was an accusation he would never let go.

Two and half years later, Williams was outside the Supreme Court in Melbourne.

He'd just learnt he could be in line to win more than $300 million in his case against the bank over the fraud.
After months of scrolling through codes, acts, and case law to represent himself in the most David and Goliath of cases, the bank hadn't shown up at court, and a judge had found in his favour.

Pensioner robbed of $1,338 is taking NAB to court for millions

Ian Williams wakes up one morning to find $1,338 has been stolen from his account via two Google Pay transactions. Two years later, he's taking on NAB at the Supreme Court, with no lawyers to help him.
www.abc.net.au
 


Write your reply...
Top