An Australian father 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.
Renato Calalang, a Melbourne man, had worked in various types of jobs for the past forty years and had saved nearly $150,000 for retirement.
Mr Calalang received an email in mid-2023 claiming that his cousin had died and left him 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, sent by the scammer posing as credit manager Steve Golds, seemed plausible to Mr Calalang as it even contained a death certificate for a person with the same name as his cousin.
Renato Calalang, 60, (pictured) lost nearly $150,000 of his savings when he fell victim to a vicious email scam claiming his relative had died and left him an inheritance
The scammer claimed to own a bank in Manila and that Calalang was entitled to an inheritance of 3.8 million euros.
To receive his inheritance, Mr Calalang was told to provide his details and open a bank account in Manila, but before doing so he had to transfer money.
Mr Calalang was told he could not transfer directly to the bank in Manila, but had to transfer it to the scammer’s agent in Australia.
“So I deposited some money into an account at the Commonwealth Bank, the same bank I work at,” Calalang told News.com.au.
“This made me feel like nothing bad could happen, and if something went wrong I thought I could pursue the Commonwealth Bank for help.”
Mr Calalang continued to deposit money with the scammers – one of whom he spoke to on the phone and who “sounded legitimate” – over the next three months, believing he would soon receive his inheritance.
One transfer worth a total of $11,180 was sent to an account named Shane T Waycott on September 8 last year.
However, he soon realized it was a scam and contacted police, Scamwatch and Commonwealth Bank, the same bank used by the scammers, in September last year.
Mr Calalang said the bank investigated his case for two months but told him his money could not be recovered because the bank in the Philippines would not cooperate.
While Mr Calalang understands that he fell victim to the scam, he claims the Commonwealth bank should have put in place better security measures to prevent this
“I wish they had warned me this was a scam. If they see someone’s account being depleted, something is clearly wrong,” Calalang said.
‘But instead they just said it was my fault. Yet the scammers have bank accounts at Commonwealth.”
He said after being a Commonwealth bank customer for 40 years, he was treated like a number.
Mr Calalang said he was looking forward to a “relaxing retirement” but has had his financial freedom taken away and has been forced to live “day by day”.
He wants to warn other Australians about the scam and hopes that the Commonwealth Bank will still get some of his money back.
A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they were aware of these types of scams and urged customers to be vigilant when transferring money.
“CBA recognizes the financial and emotional burden scams place on customers and the community,” they said.
‘We are aware of cases where a scammer makes the false promise of an inheritance or shares in a large sum of money. This can be done via a phone call, text message or email.
‘In communicating with the customer, the scammer will ask for payment of a smaller upfront payment.
The scammer, posing as a credit manager named Steve Gold, told Mr Calalang he needed to transfer money to a Commonwealth Bank account before receiving his inheritance.
Mr Calalang said he wished the Commonwealth Bank had put more security measures in place to help prevent scams. He hopes the bank can get at least some of his money back
‘CBA encourages people to be vigilant when asked to send money, and to ‘stop’. Bill. 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 have been scammed, or if you notice or have not made an unusual transaction, contact your bank immediately.’
The spokesperson confirmed that the bank had failed to recover Mr Calalang’s money.
“In this case, Mr Calalang made a number of transfers to multiple banks over a two-month period in response to the scammer telling him this would unlock a significant inheritance,” they said.
“When Mr Calalang contacted CBA about the transfers he had made, we immediately tried to get the money back but were unable to do so.
‘For more information on how to protect yourself from fraud and scams, including information on common scams, visit www.commbank.com.au/safe.’
Last year, Aussies reported more than 3,983 cases of inheritance and unexpected money fraud, costing victims more than $4.18 million, according to the ACCC’s Scamwatch.
More than $1.24 million was lost through email scams, with approximately 1,986 victims over 55 years old.