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Post by JJJ88 on Dec 18, 2022 22:49:05 GMT 7
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Post by Banjo on Dec 19, 2022 7:35:55 GMT 7
Cyber criminals drain $150k from pensioner’s online bank accounts in elaborate Prezzy Card scam
Cyber criminals convinced an elderly man his credit cards had been “compromised”, gained access to his online banking then drained $150,000 from his accounts, all while spying on the pensioner for seven hours via his laptop’s webcam.
They rang the man on his landline pretending to be from Westpac Bank’s fraud team, saying his account had been used in Los Angeles and the only way to recover the money was to share his banking details.
They then sent him a suspect email that his family believe gave the thieves unfettered access to the 82-year-old’s computer.
The crooks successfully transferred $150,000 from the man’s online accounts at Westpac, ANZ and HSBC on to his credit cards before sending a “courier” to his house to pick up the “compromised” cards as part of a bogus bank security operation.
Next, they drove to various service stations around South Auckland and used the man’s credit cards to purchase up to $70,000 of Prezzy Cards - a ploy to launder fraudulently obtained money.
The man’s daughter arrived at his house during the ruse and realised he’d been duped, shutting down his computer and disconnecting his phone.
Undeterred, the scammers tried ringing the man more than 60 times over the next two hours, eager to fleece him for every last possible cent.
The family immediately contacted the banks to have his accounts frozen and credit cards cancelled before reporting the fraud to police, and blocking those Prezzy Cards that were yet to be cashed in by the thieves.
But four months on, the family is frustrated with the lack of police progress due to a backlog of cases, despite the family identifying the service stations where the Prezzy Cards were purchased and tracking down CCTV footage of the offenders.
And while the banks have now refunded most of the stolen money, the family claims Westpac dragged the chain. The bank eventually apologised for the delay, saying its fraud team was “absolutely snowed” with similar cases of online crime.
“After I went nuts at them, within three days they rang up and said, ‘We’re really sorry, we haven’t got enough investigators but we’re going to refund the money’,” the man’s son-in-law told the Herald on Sunday.
The man’s daughter was shocked to learn the thieves had been spying on her father for hours over webcam, instructing him to put down his mobile phone when he tried calling relatives for help.
They pretended to be his friends but were instead pilfering money from his online bank accounts.
He “panicked” when she shut down his computer, convinced the person on the phone was helping him address a serious banking security issue.
He had now lost confidence and felt embarrassed about being taken in, the daughter said.
“Because dad was on his own I think he was just much more vulnerable to being caught out.
“He felt humiliated about the whole situation. None of his friends even know it happened. We just kept the whole thing quiet.”
The family used bank records to identify the service stations where the scammers purchased the Prezzy Cards - loading up to $9000 in a single transaction.
The man’s son-in-law visited the stations the next day and asked staff to hold CCTV footage of the offenders for police.
Cyber criminals gained access to the man's computer and used the pensioner's webcam to spy on him for seven hours. Photo / 123RF
etc etc
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Post by nomadic on Dec 19, 2022 20:19:07 GMT 7
Off with their heads.
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Post by mspurple on Dec 20, 2022 7:44:08 GMT 7
These scumbag scammers disgust me as much as most of our politicians. That poor man  |
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