A Sydney man misplaced $130,000 after he was tricked by scammers who pretended to be one in every of Australia’s main banks.
Small business proprietor Paul advised radio station 2GB on Wednesday morning that the scammers then boasted to him that they have been going to take a vacation after stealing his cash.
“You get this sinking feeling in your stomach,” Paul stated, remembering the second he came upon he had been scammed.
He stated he acquired a textual content message from the identical quantity his financial institution, ANZ, had beforehand contacted him on, main him to consider the message was official.
“You assume it must be real,” Paul stated.
The rip-off is known as “overstamping” and happens when criminals hijack the numbers of official companies.
Paul stated he had been compelled to put one employee off because of the rip-off and had stopped paying himself a wage.
He stated he was now anxious about the way forward for his business.
In a recording of one in every of his cellphone conversations with the scammers, one of many males tells Paul he would take a vacation after stealing his cash.
“It was great dealing with you Paul, thankyou, I’m probably going to take a vacation,” one of many males says.
Another man requested Paul the way it felt to misplaced 33 per cent of his stability and added that his particulars have been purchased for $20.
Paul was additionally advised in one of many conversations that they hoped his mom died a “terrible” demise.
He stated he was contacted by ANZ’s fraud squad and had since recovered some cash however remained about $85,000 out of pocket.
Paul stated ANZ had a “liability” to its prospects.
“Just send a text message to your customer saying this service has been compromised,” he stated.
ANZ has been contacted for remark.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
