An Australian father has had his entire life savings of almost $150,000 stolen by a cruel scammer after he opened an email claiming one of his relatives had died.
Melbourne man Renato Calalang had worked in various types of jobs for the past 40 years and had saved almost $150,000 for his retirement.
Calalang received an email in mid-2023 claiming that his cousin had died, leaving him with an inheritance.
The 60-year-old moved to Australia in 1986 and still has extended family in Manila, Philippines – some of whom he has never met.
The email, which was sent by the fraudster posing as a credit executive named Steve Golds, seemed plausible to Mr Calalang as it even contained a death certificate for someone with the same name as his cousin.
Renato Calalang, 60, (pictured) lost almost $150,000 of his life savings when he fell victim to a cruel email scam that claimed his relative had died and left him an inheritance
The fraudster claimed to own a bank in Manila and that Mr Calalang was entitled to an inheritance of 3.8 million euros.
In order to receive his inheritance, Mr. Calalang was told that he would have to provide his information and open a bank account in Manila, but before doing so, he would have to transfer money.
Calalang was told that he could not transfer directly to the bank in Manila, but that he should be transferred to the fraudster’s agent in Australia.
“So I deposited some money into a Commonwealth Bank account, which is the same bank I’m with,” Calalang told News.com.au.
‘This made me feel that nothing bad could happen and if something did go wrong I thought I would be able to hunt down the Commonwealth Bank for help.’
Sir. Calalang continued to pay the scammers – one of whom he spoke to on the phone who ‘sounded legitimate’ – over the next three months, believing he would soon receive his inheritance.
A transfer totaling $11,180 was sent to an account named Shane T Waycott on September 8 last year.
However, he quickly realized it was a scam and in September last year contacted the police, Scamwatch and Commonwealth bank, which was the same bank used by the scammers.
Calalang said the bank investigated his case for two months but told him his money could not be recovered as the bank in the Philippines would not cooperate.
While Mr Calalang understands he is falling victim to the scam, he claims the Commonwealth Bank should have had better safeguards in place to prevent
‘I wish they had warned me this was a scam. If they see someone’s account shrinking, something is obviously wrong, Calalang said.
‘But instead they just said it was my fault. Yet the fraudsters have bank accounts with the Commonwealth.’
He said after 40 years of being a Commonwealth bank customer he was treated like a number.
Calalang said he was looking forward to a ‘relaxing retirement’ but his financial freedom has been taken away and he has been forced to live ‘day to day’.
He wants to warn other Australians about the scam and hopes the Commonwealth Bank can still recover some of his money.
A spokesperson for the Commonwealth Bank told Daily Mail Australia they were aware of this type of fraud and urged customers to be vigilant when transferring money.
“CBA recognizes the financial and emotional toll that fraud has on customers and society,” they said.
‘We are aware of cases where a fraudster will make a false promise of an inheritance or share in a large sum of money. This can be through a phone call, text or email.
‘By communicating with the customer, the fraudster will request payment of a small upfront fee.
The fraudster, who posed as a credit manager named Steve Gold, told Mr Calalang he needed to transfer money to a Commonwealth Bank account before receiving his inheritance
Calalang said he wished the Commonwealth Bank had more safeguards in place to prevent fraud. He hopes the bank could retrieve at least some of his money
‘CBA urges people to be vigilant when asked to send money and to ‘Stop. Check. Reject’ when assessing payment requests.
“This includes taking the extra time to consult a trusted family member or friend as a sounding board before making a payment to an unknown recipient if there is a promise of a large sum of money in return.
‘If you think you’ve been scammed, or if you notice an unusual transaction or one you didn’t make, contact your bank immediately.’
The spokesman confirmed that the bank was unable to retrieve Mr Calalang’s money.
“In this case, Mr Calalang made a number of transfers to several banks over a two-month period in response to the fraudster telling him that this would in turn release a substantial inheritance,” they said.
‘When Mr Calalang contacted CBA about the transfers he had made, we immediately tried to recover the funds but were unsuccessful.
“For more information on protecting yourself from fraud and scams, including information on common types of fraud, visit www.commbank.com.au/safe.”
Last year, Aussies reported more than 3,983 cases of inheritance and windfall money scams, costing victims more than $4.18 million, according to the ACCC’s Scamwatch.
More than $1.24 million was lost to email scams, and victims over the age of 55 represented about 1,986 of the victims.