A heartbroken couple have been forced to delay their plans to start a family after a fraudster wiped out almost $100,000 in savings from their Bendigo bank account.
Scott and Danielle White are now down to just $1,500 after falling victim to a scammer who called them Monday, posing as a member of their bank.
The man asked Mr. White to give him a personal security code and within minutes the scammer stole more than $98,000.
The heartbroken couple are left disappointed and frustrated as they struggle to come to terms with what they should do next.
Mr White explained that the fraudster knew all his online banking details.
“I have virtually no online presence. I’ve never had social media. I don’t do much even on my phone outside of the usual stuff,” she said. The project on Tuesday.
“He knew my access codes. He knew the security systems that Bendigo Bank used. He knew details about me that you can only get once you’re logged in.”
Mr White asked the man to prove he worked at the bank and sent him a text message that appeared to be from the bank.
Scott and Danielle White (pictured) are now down to $1,500 after receiving a call Monday from a scammer they thought was their bank.
‘He knew details about me that you can only get once you log in.’
The text message looked exactly like some of the previous conversations she had had with the bank through threads in her phone messages.
Ms White said the couple are now struggling with money on top of mounting veterinary bills to care for their sick dog.
“We have no money left, just what I get paid at work, and that’s not going to last long,” he said.
“We recently found out that our dog has cancer all over her body, so we have tons of vet bills to try and keep her alive a little longer.”
The Project host Sarah Harris was left horrified as she listened to the couple’s heartbreaking story.
Mr White is currently receiving income protection due to recent knee surgery.
The couple have also been trying to start a family and saving up for IVF treatment.
Ms White fought back tears and broke down as she tried to explain how her future plans had been thwarted.
“We wanted to start IVF because we had been trying for a while without success, we didn’t even have a little hope. So a lot of the money went into IVF,” White said.
Mr White said his family does not know what happened and said they were planning to do at least 10 IVF cycles.
“We had been trying for a baby for so long. This was literally going to happen next month to start all of our treatments. So it’s really hard,” Ms White said.
The Project’s Sarah Harris was horrified to hear the couple’s heartbreaking story.
The couple, who had plans to start a family, are now struggling with money and also facing mounting medical costs to care for their dog, who has cancer (bank statement pictured)
Australians lost more than $2.7 billion to scams in 2023 and more than 600,000 scam reports were made, according to an ACCC report.
Investment scams claimed the most money, with Australians losing a massive $1.3 billion.
A Bendigo Bank spokesperson said the bank tries to reimburse funds lost to scams wherever possible.
“Where the bank is at fault, we will reimburse customers for the loss of funds,” the spokesman said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Bendigo Bank for further comment.
