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A bank teller stopped a woman from transferring $6 million to a scammer posing as a conveyancer she was buying a house from.
The woman, aged in her 50s, walked into a NAB branch in Erina, on the New South Wales Central Coast, on Monday with the aim of transferring her life savings to secure a property.
He showed an invoice that had been emailed to client advisor Nikki Alvaro, who immediately noticed several red flags, including the company’s name.
“The name of the company on the invoice seemed completely different from the normal property exchange company (PEXA) and the money was going to one bank, when I know that PEXA is normally a different bank,” Ms. Alvaro said. 7news.
A bank teller (pictured) stopped a woman from transferring $6 million to a scammer posing as a conveyancer she was buying a house from.
The bank teller asked the customer to call the carrier and confirm the BSB and account numbers.
At first, the woman was reluctant to follow the instructions, but she quickly relented and the response she received horrified everyone.
“The carrier told the customer, ‘I haven’t even sent you an email because I don’t have the price yet,’ and he confirmed that he had not banked at the bank where the money was going,” Ms. Alvaro said.
It is understood that the fraudster had compromised the business email of a real carrier, obtained all the relevant information and altered the payment details so that the money went directly to his own account.
According to Mrs. Álvaro, everything seemed legitimate but she had the feeling that something was not right.
Australians lost $16.2 million to payment redirection scams last year.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the industries most commonly targeted by these scams are traditionally those that regularly handle large money transfers, such as the real estate and legal sectors.
The woman, aged in her 50s, walked into a NAB branch in Erina, on the New South Wales Central Coast, on Monday with the aim of transferring her life savings to secure a property.
“Fraudsters are sophisticated criminals and are becoming increasingly targeted in the way they exploit Australian consumers and businesses,” ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said in a statement.
‘These criminals pose as genuine companies that a consumer has recently dealt with and send fake invoices with altered payment details so that money ends up in the fraudster’s hands.
“If you receive an invoice via email, take the time to call the company at a number you have found to confirm that the payment details are correct.”
The client later sent Ms. Álvaro a bouquet of flowers and a thank you note.
