A tree feller was forced to hunt down heartless thieves who wasted $14,000 of his money on overspending after his bank blamed him for being defrauded by the criminals.
Walter Vantilburg, Melbourne arborist, 59, He himself went to hunt down the criminals. noticed seven unauthorized transactions at five different JB Hi-Fi stores in Melbourne.
Vantilburg said he discovered the unauthorized transactions when he was paying an employee in September.
He was initially hoping to save money when he called Bendigo Bank as many of the transactions were still pending.
Vantilburg claimed the bank told him they “didn’t care” and that nothing could be done to stop them.
The tree-trimming worker watched as his money was emptied from his bank account through multiple withdrawals in amounts of $1,990.
A dubious withdrawal also occurred while Vantilburg was on the phone with the bank complaining about fraud.
Vantilburg immediately canceled his credit card, but when he investigated the matter a few weeks later he was told that no fraud report had been made in the Bendigo Bank system.
Melbourne tree trimmer Walter Vantilburg fell victim to credit card scammers
Vantilburg also claimed Bendigo Bank had told him he was at fault and accused him of revealing his credit card details and authorizing its use in an Apple wallet.
He denied this had happened and has no idea how the thieves gained access to his credit card details which he used for his tree felling business.
‘The card never leaves me or my wallet. “I use it as fuel, it’s really a business card, that’s the most important thing that’s used for things like repairs and spare parts,” he said. news.com.au.
Vantilburg said he had filed a report with police, but police needed more information to take further action.
Vantilburg, who was left “shocked”, launched his own investigation and contacted the five JB Hi-Fi stores where the fake transactions took place.
The first store told him nothing could be done, but that they would pass the information on to their forensic team.
Mr. Vantilburg’s visit to the next JB Hi-Fi paid off after the manager printed all the receipts.
The helpful store manager also discovered footage showing two criminals making risky purchases.
Bendigo Bank let Vantilburg investigate the criminals themselves
The alleged thieves stole three Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 phones, three Google Pixel 9 Pro phones and an iPad Pro from the five stores with a stylus.
Mr Vantilburg said he felt he had no choice but to do his own investigations as Bendigo Bank’s response had left him “in disbelief”.
‘This is what I don’t understand. “Bendigo Bank more or less suggests that I had something to do with it,” he said.
‘They said it’s your fault we’re not going to help you; That’s the attitude I got back. I received no help from them. They just said you gave your card to someone.
Vantilburg said he had been a loyal customer for 20 or 30 years and described the “lack of attention” as “unbelievable.”
He said that to save that $14,000 he had to complete $30,000 worth of work.
Vantilburg said he was getting married in February and hoped to pay off the last of the money he owed his ex-wife, but the loss of $14,000 made the opportunity for a “fresh start” impossible.
It is understood Bendigo Bank backtracked on its original decision after its story became public and informed Mr Vantilburg the $14,000 would be refunded.
A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed police are investigating an alleged robbery and fraud in Melbourne’s east on September 12.
“Two unknown offenders are believed to have used a stolen credit card at a number of stores in Camberwell, Nunawading, Forest Hill, Eastland and Knox,” the spokesperson said.
It is estimated that $14,000 was spent on the credit card. The investigation is ongoing.’
A spokesperson for Bendigo Bank said it did not comment specifically on customer matters.
He said the bank takes cybersecurity very seriously by protecting its customers and safeguarding its systems with a variety of cybercrime prevention methods.
“It is important that customers take steps to protect themselves and do not share their passwords or allow someone they do not know or trust to log into their computer remotely, as it is extremely difficult to recover money that has been transferred to customers. scammers.” said.
“Bendigo Bank attempts to recover funds lost in scams wherever possible and it goes without saying that where the bank is at fault, we will reimburse customers for lost funds.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.