A bank employee stopped a woman from transferring $6 million to a scammer posing as a conveyancer from whom she was buying a house.
The woman, in her 50s, walked into a NAB branch in Erina, on the NSW central coast, on Monday wanting to hand over her entire savings to secure a property.
She showed an invoice emailed to client advisor Nikki Alvaro, who immediately noticed several red flags, including the company name.
“The company name on the invoice looked completely different from the normal property exchange company (PEXA) and the money went to one bank, while I know PEXA is normally a different bank,” Ms Alvaro said. 7News.
A bank employee (pictured) stopped a woman from transferring $6 million to a scammer posing as a conveyancer from whom she bought a house
The bank employee asked the customer to call the carrier and confirm the BSB and account numbers.
The woman was initially hesitant to follow the instruction, but quickly gave in – and the response she received left everyone shocked.
“The carrier said to the customer, ‘I haven’t even emailed you yet because I haven’t even gotten a price yet’ and confirmed he hadn’t banked with the bank the money was going to,” Ms. Alvaro.
It is clear that the scammer has compromised the business email of a genuine carrier, obtained all relevant information and changed the payment details so that the money would go directly to their own account.
According to Ms. Alvaro, everything looked legitimate, but she had a feeling something was wrong.
Aussies lost $16.2 million to payment diversion scams last year.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the sectors most frequently targeted by these scams have traditionally been those that regularly experience large money transfers, such as the real estate and legal sectors.
The woman, in her 50s, walked into a NAB branch in Erina, on the NSW Central Coast, on Monday wanting to transfer her entire savings to secure a property.
“Scammers 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 changed payment details so that the money gets to the scammer.
‘If you receive an invoice by email, please take the time to call the company at a number you have identified to confirm that the payment details are correct.’
The customer later sent Ms. Alvaro a bouquet of flowers and a note thanking her.