A couple who lost nearly $50,000 to scammers after buying their first home have criticised their bank for compensating them with just $500.
Jessica Greentree, 25, and Will Clinton, 27, spent years saving to buy their dream home in Camden, southwest of Sydney.
The couple unwittingly lost the settlement funds after scammers tricked them into sending $48,925.
The couple had received an email that appeared to come from their lawyer, asking them to send the money to a NAB account.
There was nothing suspicious about the request because they had spoken to their lawyer the day before and he told them he would need the money soon.
By the time their bank, Macquarie Bank, confirmed they had been scammed, the couple’s money was irrecoverable.
The bank initially refused to reimburse the couple, arguing that Clinton had “authorized” the transaction.
Ms Greentree and her partner refused to back down and took the matter to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
Jessica Greentree, 25, and Will Clinton, 27, were scammed out of $48,925 by criminals posing as their attorney before purchasing their first home.
The couple was then offered a “goodwill” payment of just $500 from their bank.
“We thought that was disgusting,” Clinton said. The project.
Fortunately, their real lawyer reached an agreement and reduced the deposit amount on the property from 10 percent to 5 percent so they would not lose the house.
The couple have now been forced to rent out the property to pay the mortgage while they work to recoup the lost money.
Clinton, who works as a cartoonist, said losing the money had been “absolutely devastating” after she had worked so hard to save it in the first place.
“Jess and I were working full time,” he said.
‘I was running my own business trying to make some extra money and Jess started selling firewood as a side hustle.’
When Mr. Clinton discovered they had been scammed, he called Ms. Greenwood, an occupational therapist, while she was at work to tell her what had happened.
“I started crying… A year and a half of savings went up in an instant. It was probably the worst day of our lives,” she said.
Mr Clinton said he had no reason to believe the fake email was a scam as all the details were correct and it was on his lawyer’s letterhead.
She now says it has been “incredibly frustrating” trying to get help from anyone as no one wants to accept blame.
Ms. Greentree and Mr. Clinton revealed that they are also trying to plan their upcoming wedding.
Experts warn that such cybercrime is becoming more sophisticated and so easy for fraudsters to pull off that it’s like “shooting fish in a barrel.”
There are more than 150,000 active “mule” bank accounts in Australia and experts warn that scammers’ methods are becoming more sophisticated.
Mule accounts are operated by criminals who scam people into depositing money into them which is then immediately funneled overseas.
Cybersecurity expert Gabor Szathmari said that ‘The “ruthless professionalization” of cybercrime is being boosted by AI, with more and more criminals involved.
“Unfortunately, crime pays and technology allows criminals to carry out large-scale scams over the Internet,” he said. He told the domain.
‘For example, mass phishing emails can be sent and robocalls can be made without human interaction.’
Australian banks are not required to verify the name or confirm the beneficiary of bank transfers despite the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recommending that they do so in 2022.